New Life
by PsychoRoseTic
Summary: After the Cullen's left Forks, Charlie re-married and had another child. Bella's little sister. After a tragic accident, Willow finds her sister. But finding a sister is not her only discovery. She enters a world full of supernatural...and the love she had always wanted. JasperXOC story. (Alice does not exist.)
1. Chapter 1 and 2

New Life

A/N: This story has been adopted by me, Psychotic Rose. To make this easier on myself I have put two of the previous Author, Jacob-and-Jill's chapters in one post. After I am done uploading the chapter's she has already written, the new chapters will be one chapter a post. Expect updates every other week. I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter one**

The house was huge, like a mansion. The vines climbing up the red brick made it look like it had just been pulled out of a fairy tale novel. I swallowed and pushed my wet hair back from my face. A huge gush of wind chilled me to the bone and sent freezing cold sleet mixed with rain at my face. I shivered and ran the rest of the way up the gravel driveway and ducked under cover on the front porch. The porch swing creaked from the wind and sent another chill down my spine. There was no way this house wasn't haunted. I shook my head and raised my hand, knocking on the thick wooden door. I waited but nobody answered. I knocked again, louder, and still nobody answered. I sighed and dropped my bag before standing on tiptoe to look in the window at the top of the door. The house was completely dark except for when the lightening lit it up. I could see a couch and other furniture, so I guessed it was the living room. Another gust of wind pushed rain at my back and I gasped. It felt like I had been hit by a wave of water. With shaking hands I reached up and pulled the black hood of my jacket up over my head, though it was as wet as everything I was wearing_. 'Damn taxi driver not driving all the way up the driveway. So what if it was caked in mud. If I can walk all the way up it, I'm sure he could have dropped my off by the door.'_ Deciding there was nothing else to do but wait, I sat down on the swing with my head down. I pulled out the picture I had been carrying for the past week. The girl and guy in the picture smiled up at me and I swallowed nervously. _What if she didn't like me? What if she made me leave? I'll have nowhere to go._ I swallowed again as tears sprung to my eyes. I tried to push them back and raised my head. My mouth gaped open when I saw a figure standing there. I jumped up with a gasp.

"Who are you?" A smooth voice came from the figure.

"I….I…. my names….. Willow….I was-"I was cut off when a flash of lightening lit up the porch and the figure in front of me. Only it wasn't just anyone that was standing in front of me. It was the man in the photo I carried in my hand. I clenched the photo tightly and stuffed it in my pocket.

"May I help you?" He asked, moving closer. I took a step back and bumped into the swing.

"No…yes…. I-I'm here to see…. Bella Sw…. Cullen?" I stopped myself from saying 'Swan'. The man took a step closer and I was able to see him a little more clearly.

"You're soaked. How long have you been out here?" He asked and I noticed a hint of concern in his voice. At least he wasn't yelling at me to leave.

"The taxi driver wouldn't drive up all the way because of the mud." I said with a shrug as I started shivering again. He moved away and I heard jingling before the door opened. His shadow disappeared and a second later the porch light flicked on and I was blinded by the unexpected light. The guy stepped back out and motioned me inside.

"I'll get you a towel. Bella won't be back for a few minutes." He said. I nodded and stepped inside the house. When I did I wanted to go back out. It was colder in here than it was outside.

"Sorry, we haven't been home all day. It gets cold in here quick." He said with a sheepish smile. He jogged up the stairs on the other side of the room and I looked around, still standing by the door. The sofa was brown leather and three matching very comfortable chairs where on either side of the couch and next to a brick fireplace. A huge flat screen TV hung on the wall and underneath sat a polished wooden cabinet. The guy jogged back down the stairs with a couple of towels and changed out of his own wet clothes. He gave one to me and rubbed the other one through his coppery hair. I took it and tried drying myself off as best as I could with soaked clothes on.

"So… not trying to be rude…. But what are you doing here." He asked, frowning a little at me. I swallowed. Before I could answer the door behind me opened and I spun around to see who had come in. I slipped in the process and caught myself before I fell flat on my face. I gaped at the girl who had entered. She had brown hair that shinier than mine, though it was wet from the rain, and she was thinner. I suddenly felt nervous. She frowned at me and looked at the guy.

"Edward…?" She asked in a soft silky voice. I looked over my shoulder at him to see him frowning a little. Then I looked back at the girl. This was her. Bella. My sister.

**Chapter Two**

Bella cleared her throat and I realized I was still gawking at her. I snapped out of it and cleared my throat.

"This is Willow. She… came to see you." Edward spoke behind me. There was a strange edge to his voice that I didn't hear before. Bella's face broke out into a kind smile and shut the door before reaching out to shake my hand.

"Hello Willow." She said kindly. I took her hand a little shakily. "Have a seat." She motioned to the sofa before sitting down herself. I hesitated, looking down at my wet clothes.

"Don't worry about it." Edward said waving his hand before sitting down beside Bella. Still, I put the towel down before I sat. How was I going to break the news to her? How are you supposed to tell someone who has no idea who you are that you're her sister?

"So what can I do for you?" She asked kindly but curiously. I decided to just come out with it. Only problem is… my mouth didn't get the memo.

"Bella….I…." I couldn't get the words. And what's worse, I couldn't breathe. It was hitting me suddenly. My older sister was standing right in front of me, the one that didn't know who I was, the one that had left home and never contacted our father again. I gasped for breath but it didn't do anything. _What the hell was I thinking coming here? I should get up and run._ I would have if it hadn't been that the walls were closing in on me, pressing me into the suddenly uncomfortable chair. My head was spinning and I was vaguely aware of Edward and Bella standing in front of me, speaking, I could tell by the way their lips moved. But I didn't hear a word they were saying. Then I fell into blackness.

**(Bella's POV)**

She slumped over, eyes rolling back in her head and I gasped. Edward knelt down in front of her and patted her face gently.

"She's fainted." He said. I knelt down beside him.

"Why was she here?" I asked. Edward didn't speak and I looked over at him and he looked away. I knew that look. It was very rare, but he was keeping something from me.

"Edward what is it?" I asked. He sighed and stood up.

"I'm going to take her Carlisle's study. He'll be here soon and he can take a look at her." He said before carefully tucking his arms under her legs and back and lifted her. I followed him and he lay her down on the brown sofa. I flicked on the light on Carlisle's desk so she'd have a little light if she woke up before Carlisle got there. Edward stood back and leaned against the desk with his arms folded.

"Edward." I said in a hard voice. I hated when he hid things from me. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it when we both heard the other vehicles pulling up. I looked back at the human girl. _At least everyone just got back from hunting._ She would be safe. Edward grabbed my hand and we ran out to meet everyone as they all came through the front door. Emmett was helping Rose out of her rain coat and she didn't look happy about her hair being wet.

"We are vampires. We can move faster than anything. Yet I still get soaking wet." She grumbled. Emmett chuckled and ruffled her wet hair. She hissed and swatted his hand away as Jasper came in, followed by Carlisle and Esme. Jasper froze, sniffing the air. Then eyes landed on us, narrowed.

"Why is there a human here?" He asked. Carlisle looked at him then at us.

"She wanted to see me. But… she fainted." I said with a shrug. Carlisle went into doctor mode and stepped forward, rolling up his damp sleeves.

"We put her in your study." Edward answered his unasked question and then he was gone.

"I'm going to go make some tea for when she wakes up." Esme said, heading towards the kitchen.

"I'm getting out of these wet things." Rosalie looked down at her soaked shirt and Emmett grinned. She wacked at him when he tightened his arm around her waist and Edward winced.

"Your thoughts Emmett... Contain them _please_." He moaned. Rosalie shook her head at Emmett before heading up the stairs muttering 'pervert'. That made Emmett's grin widen and he hurried up after her.

"But you love me anyway." He called. Rosalie scoffed and we heard their bedroom door slam shut.

"They annoy me sometimes." Jasper spoke dryly with a sigh. I laughed and Edward shivered. Jasper smiled before running up the stairs. Everyone was gone so I turned back to Edward.

"So what are you hiding?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and doing my best to look threatening. Edward sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sweetheart, There is something… about the girl I heard from her thoughts." He spoke quietly and I started to get a little nervous. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard a faint moan. I guessed the girl was waking up. Edward sighed and rubbed a hand through his.

"Just say it Edward. What's wrong?" I asked gently, rubbing his arm.

"Bella… she's your sister."

**(Willow's POV)**

I was laying on something soft. I didn't remember ever laying down. I moaned and moved to sit up, but the fog in my brain made it very hard.

"Don't move." A soft male voice spoke above me. I ignored him and sat up, moaning as I did. I opened my heavy eyelids. My vision was a little blurry but after a few minutes of blinking and most likely looking like an idiot, I was able to see that I was in an office like place. And a gorgeous blonde man was kneeling in front of me with a damp rag in his hand. That's when I noticed my forehead was wet. I reached up and wiped it away, wincing at my movement.

"What happened?" I asked. The man smiled and stood up.

"You fainted." He said simply. _Who knew fainting would leave you with such a bad headache._ I pushed my legs over the side of the couch so I was sitting rather than lounging. The world started to spend and I dropped my head down between my knees. A light knock startled me and I looked up as the man went and opened the door to reveal a short beautiful woman. She came in and smiled at me. I tried to smile politely back but my mouth wouldn't move. She came towards me and held a steaming mug.

"I made you some tea…. It might help a little." She said softly. I took the mug with shaky hands and took a small sip, burning my lips a little. I winced but didn't say anything. I opened my mouth to speak when another knock sounded on the door, a little more persistent than when the woman had knocked. The man frowned and opened the door again and Bella slipped in hurriedly. Edward followed behind, a strange expression on his face. She looked at me and froze. I looked away, face burning. I'm such a wimp. I see my older sister and then I faint? I looked up when I felt the seat beside me lower. Bella smiled kindly at me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked gently.

"I'm… ok." I said hesitantly. Edward cleared his throat and I looked as he and Carlisle left the room.

"So…where did you come from?" She asked. I swallowed and looked down at my mug.

"Forks, Washington." I said, barely over a whisper. I looked up at her to see something flash across her face. Then she smiled softly again. Now was the time to tell her. But I still couldn't get the words out. I swallowed hard again but it was hard to get out.

"Bella… I'm-" I was cut off by the office door opening. The blonde man came in and smiled at me. Then he looked at the woman sitting next to me. Of whom I'd forgotten was there.

"Esme. I need your help in the kitchen." He said gently. She stood up and headed to the door, stopping before she shut it.

"If you need anything just call." She spoke to Bella who nodded. Then we were alone.

"What were you saying?" She asked. I swallowed and looked at her. I had to tell her.

"I know… you were from Forks…" I faded off. How lame could I be? "…do you remember Mary Cloud?" I asked. She nodded slowly."After… you left. She married your dad… Charlie Swan." I looked to see her reaction. Her eyes widened for a minute. Then she smiled.

"Of course, I always could see the way she looked at him and the way he was around her." She chuckled. I smiled a little, remembering how my mother and father had been. They were so in love. But now they were dead. Tears welled in my eyes and I tried to push them back. I was an orphan. I was scared to death if Bella didn't want me. I'd be lone the rest of my life.

"Hey… what's wrong?" She asked, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"They had a baby Bella. I'm your sister." I said the last part in a whisper. I wasn't sure she had heard me. But when I looked at her, saw her shocked expression. I knew she'd heard me.


	2. Chapter 3 and 4

**New Life**

**Chapter Three**

**(Willow's POV)**

"You can stay in here." Bella spoke as she opened a door to a plain room. There was a queen sized canopy bed. There weren't any sheets or pillows, but the bed looked really comfy at the moment. Then I remembered Bella was talking. "…boring right now. But we can fix it up. Take you shopping later on and stuff." She sounded happy. But I knew this was awkward for her too. After I told her they were dead, I was suddenly informed I was going to stay here, which was kind of what I wanted. I knew it was going to be awkward. But I felt worse now. We stood there, a few feet apart, not saying anything. Finally she cleared her throat and edged towards the door.

"I'll…uh… go get some blankets and sheets." She said. I nodded and she left. I looked around again. There were two doors. One I, guessed, was a closet and I was curious about the other. I went over to it and gasped when I saw my own bathroom. Complete with a Jacuzzi tub. At home we'd only had one bathroom.

"Do you like it?" I jumped at Bella's voice behind me and almost fell flat on my face when I spun around with a gasp. She held a pile of pillows and blankets with a soft smile.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." She said. I didn't say anything. She walked to the bed and placed the stuff on the mattress. Again, we were stuck in an uncomfortable silence. I picked at a loose thread on my jacket. She cleared her throat and smiled again.

"Do you need help making the bed?" She asked.

"No. I can get it." I answered, shaking my head. I didn't want to cause her any more trouble than I already had.

"Ok… goodnight then." She said, turning to leave. Guilt and sadness sat heavy in my chest and before I could stop myself I stopped her.

"Wait!" She turned and looked at me. I bit my lip and tears threatened to spill over.

"You… you don't have to do this." I whispered shakily. She smiled sadly and nodded.

"Yes I do." She said before quickly leaving and shutting my door behind her. Discussion over. I turned to start making my bed, tears spilling over my cheeks. It hadn't been long after Bella got over the shock of my words that she stated that I was staying here. I'd tried to argue but she hadn't let me. Saying it wouldn't make up for not being there for me in the beginning, but she could do the right thing now. I'd clamped my mouth shut and followed her up to the guest bedroom that was across the halls from hers and Edwards. She'd informed me that there were seven people living in the house, her in-laws Esme and Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and her two brother in-laws and her sister in-law. It made me feel even worse. That was a lot of people in one house. And now they had to worry about an emotionally disturbed teenager. Guilt over powered me and I collapsed on the bed in sobs.

**(Bella's POV)**

"No." Edward stopped me by putting a hand on my arm. I sank back down slowly but my heart ached hearing her crying. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but you need to let her be for a while." He said gently, tightening his arms around my middle. I leaned into his comforting embrace with a heavy sigh.

"Is she ok?" I asked.

"Yeah… she is scared she is a burden. That she dumped something on you that she really shouldn't have." He said softly. I pressed my face into his chest, wishing I could block out the sound.

"What am I going to do Edward?" I whispered.

"There's nothing more we can do." He sighed. "It's going to be awkward for a while." I nodded and opened my eyes again. We were still the only ones in the living room. Then I realized something and I winced, sitting up.

"I think we need to talk to everyone else." I whispered. Edward chuckled and nodded. I called them and seconds later they were all present. By the way Emmett looked amused, Rosalie pissed off, and Jasper looking a mixture of everything, they already knew.

"How could you make this decision without us?" Rosalie hissed. I frowned at her and stood up.

"She's my sister. I ha-"

"Did you forget _what_ we are?" Her eyes were narrowed to slits and if I didn't know I could take her I'd have been scared.

"No Rose, I didn't. I have to be here for her." I stated in a hard voice.

"Why? You weren't before." She scoffed.

"Rosalie!" Esme hissed as she and Carlisle joined us.

"I didn't know about her." I growled. "But if I had, I would have been there."

"Ok. What about this. What are you going to do when she realizes that we don't age?" She asked. I didn't answer. I hadn't thought of that and she knew it. When I didn't answer she smirked. "How are you going to feel when she runs screaming from you?"

"Rosalie that is enough." Carlisle hissed. "We will handle that part when we come to it." He turned to me, softening.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Have her stay here with us?" He asked softly. I swallowed hard and nodded slowly. I knew it was a quick decision, but I didn't think I could bare it if I turned her away. It made me want to cry thinking I had missed seventeen, almost eighteen, years of her life. I'd always wanted a little sister. And when I finally had one, I'd missed out.

"Yes." I finally answered. He nodded and smiled gently.

"I can't speak for Esme or anyone, but you are like my daughter, so I support your decision." He said. My heart swelled with joy. I wanted to hug him but the fact that I didn't know what everyone else thought stopped me.

"Don't the rest of us get a vote?" Rosalie asked annoyed. Carlisle sighed and turned to her.

"It doesn't really matter, seeing as how I own this house, but go ahead. What are your votes?" He asked, crossing his arms, looking down at Esme.

"You know I always stand by what you think is right. So I vote yes." She said, smiling gently at me.

"Well I vote no." Rose hissed, crossing her arms. I glared at her and Edward stood up next to me.

"I vote yes." He stated. I smiled and squeezed his hand. His answer was to curl his arm around me and pull me tight to his side.

"Jasper?" I asked. He looked at me then at everyone in the room. Then he sighed and gave me a half smile.

"I'm sorry Bella, but I have to agree with Rosalie on this one." He said gently. My heart sank a little. "Though, not all for the same reasons. You know how I am around humans." He added. I smiled and nodded.

"I know." I said gently.

"She's staying anyway… so it doesn't really matter." He said with a shrug.

"What about you Emmett?" I asked. He sighed and scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly at Rose.

"I'm sorry babe, but I don't see a problem with it." He said. "I mean, we did it fine with Bella when she was human."

"Yeah, except for when Jasper almost killed her." She glared at him and he shrugged. Jasper looked at me sheepishly and I smiled.

"I vote yes." Emmett said and Rosalie huffed.

"In that case, you can just keep your dumb ass out of my room for a while." She hissed before running up the stairs. Emmett looked shocked for a moment. Then he sighed with a shrug.

"Well, now that it's all settled. Bella, I think me and you need to go grocery shopping." Esme said. "Seeing as how you were human not long ago, you may have a better idea of what she would like." I nodded. Edward followed me up to the bedroom so I could change out of my still damp clothes into something dryer and fixed my hair.

"Thank you for sticking with me through that." I said, turning to see him lounging on the bed. He smiled and propped his head on his palm.

"You know I always will." He said. I smiled and went to kiss him when I realized Willow's room was silent.

"She's sleeping. She fell asleep a few minutes ago." He answered my unasked question and I sighed in relief.

"I wish there was a way I could let her know she isn't a burden." I whispered. Edward sat up and pulled me down on his lap.

"In time, love. Everything is going to turn out ok." He whispered before kissing me gently. When I deepened the kiss he pulled away with a chuckle.

"Esme is waiting for you." He answered my pouty expression.

"Fine, but when I get back…" I said pointing my finger at him. He laughed and grabbed my finger.

"You'll what?" He asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively. I shook my head and kissed him lightly.

"I'll make you watch _Pride and Prejudice_." I said rolling my eyes. He made a face and I laughed before leaving with him behind me. I stopped when I came face to face with Willow's door. I wondered if it would be too pushy of me to check in on her. I shook my head and went for it. Edward didn't stop me so I opened the door gently and peeked in. She lay curled on the half made bed, breathing lightly. Her brown curls lay over her face and I ached to go and smooth them away. She'd fallen asleep with her shoes on and she hadn't bothered to pull a blanket on. She shivered in her sleep and, without hesitation, I went over and unfolded one of the quilts I'd brought. I spread it over her and she didn't stir. Her cheeks were still red from crying and the sheets were wet with her tears. Again I wished I could ease her pain. I settled for gently sliding off her wet shoes and sitting them beside the bed. When I turned I found Edward watching me with a gentle smile. I smiled sadly back and returned to the hallway. Edward shut the door gently behind us and turned to face me.

"She looks like you, you know?" He said softly.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, though she has blue eyes and you had brown. Her hair is a little darker than yours had been but her face… you can definitely see resemblance." He spoke barely over a whisper but I could hear him fine. Happiness swelled in my chest at the thought.

**(Willow's POV)**

It was raining and I was having a hard time watching the road. Suddenly, two bright lights on my mother's side caught my attention and I looked over. Right as the passenger side window busted. Everything was in slow motion. I could see every shard of glass as it slid against my mother's cheeks as she turned her head to look at me, fear evident in her dark eyes and a silent scream forcing her lips open. I tried to reach out to her but I couldn't get there fast enough. The glass was heading right for me. I could feel the pain as a rather large piece sliced my skin right below my ear and I screamed. I sat upright and was suddenly aware that I was in a bed. Not in the car. I gasped for breath and tried not to scream. My heart was racing in my chest as my mind played the dream over and over in my head. I couldn't stop the tears from falling again so I grabbed the nearest pillow and buried my face in it, letting the sobs shaky my sore body. _If Bella doesn't like me now, she most certainly won't like me when she finds out I killed our father._

**Chapter Four**

**(Willow's POV)**

I didn't want to leave the room, but I was really thirsty after all the crying. So I got up and inched my door open. The door to Bella and Edward's room was open but it was dark. With any luck, I'd be able to locate the kitchen without running into anyone. I went back down the hallway and down the stairs to the living room. I'd seen the kitchen when we left Carlisle's office. But I hadn't really been paying attention. I sighed in relief when I went down the hallway and glimpsed the kitchen through a big dining room. The kitchen was modernized with a huge stainless steel refrigerator, two big wall ovens and one of those island stove tops. The cabinets were dark polished wood. I needed to look for a glass but I didn't want to touch the wood. I didn't want my finger prints to ruin the glossy surface. It took a few moments but I finally opened one of the cabinets and found rows of delicate looking glasses. Everything in this house was clean and shiny. My hand shook a little when I picked up one of the glasses. It would be just like me to break one. I managed not to and went to the sink. I gulped down half a glass full as I looked out at the darkness behind the window above the sink. That's when I noticed a reflection of a man standing right behind me. I gasped and spun around, dropping my glass in the process. He looked like a statue he was so still. A statue of an angel though. His golden eyes bore into me and I was sure my heart had stopped. His blonde hair looked touchable. As did his perfect face. I swallowed hard and found out, even though I had drunk half a glass of water only seconds before, my throat was parched again. I guess I swallowed louder than I thought because he broke his frozen pose and a small smile graced his lips. I was still frozen in place. That's when Edward showed up behind Jasper.

"Are you ok?" He asked me. "I heard something break." That pulled me out of my trance and I looked down at the shattered glass and puddle of water at my feet. I went to back away but Edward stopped.

"No! Don't move." He said sternly. I looked up as he went to a closet and pulled out a hand brush and dust pan. "Let me clean it up real quick so you don't cut yourself." I stayed still and he worked quickly getting it up. By this time my face was burning and I was cursing at myself in my head for being so stupid.

"I'm so sorry." I muttered. Edward smiled up at me and shrugged.

"You wouldn't believe how many things get broken around here." He said. I felt a little better and managed a small smile as he stood up and dumped the broken pieces in a waste bend under the sink. I glanced over at the other guy in the room and he leaned against the doorframe.

"Wh-where's Bella?" I asked. Edward dusted off his hands and leaned against island.

"She and Esme had to run an errand." He said. Then he suddenly noticed the guy standing in the doorway, of whom I was getting a little freaked out by. I mean, he was just standing there. Staring at me. I hate it when people stare at me. I resisted the urge to shiver when Edward waved his hand at him.

"I almost forgot that is my brother Jasper." He said. I tried to smile politely but whenever I looked at him he always managed to catch my eyes with his and hold my gaze. It took my breath away and the connection would only stop when he looked away. This time, he looked over my shoulder and smirked. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up straight and I slowly looked over my shoulder to see what he was staring at. My gaze was met by a grey wall. I gasped and stumbled back as booming laughter filled the kitchen. Right before I fell on my butt, Jasper grabbed me by the elbows and caught me. I was too stunned to see a giant man suddenly in front of me to notice though. The guy was beautiful, like the whole family. Though, he looked more like a body building angel than a model like the others. His biceps looked as big as melons! It couldn't be healthy to be _that_buff. Plus, he was pretty frightening. Even though he was smiling and dimples were in his cheeks, I had no doubt he could pull off chasing after someone in a hockey mask and a chain saw. Edward snorted and I looked at him. He cleared his throat and stood up straight, motioning towards the body builder.

"Willow, meet my other brother, Emmett." He said. Emmett stepped forward and reached out his hand. I shakily held out my own tiny one and winced when he took it. I was expecting him to grasp in a bone shattering grasp. But, instead, he took it gently and brought it up to his mouth, kissing the top.

"Hi." He said. My mouth was gaped open and I was sure my eyes were as big as saucers. I swallowed hard.

"H-h-hi." I stuttered. He flashed another grin, showing off his dimples and let go of my hand. It slumped against my side and I suddenly realized Jasper was still the only thing holding me up. I cleared my throat and steady myself. Once I was sure I wasn't going to topple over, Jasper let go and went back to standing against the doorframe.

"What happened?" A familiar voice asked from behind me. I turned and found Carlisle coming in with a frown.

"I startled her." Emmett spoke, grin widening and dimples deepening. He was suddenly looking less and less frightening. I could even feel a smile starting to form on my own mouth.

"Are all the cars parked in the garage?" Carlisle asked. He nodded and tossed a pair of keys on the counter. That's when I noticed the back door. That's where he must have come from. From the daze I'd been in by staring at Jasper I hadn't heard the door open. Carlisle turned to me with a kind smile and held up a white bottle.

"I was just coming up to see if you wanted to take a few of these to help you sleep." He said. Sleep all of a sudden sounded great to me. Though I had no idea how long I'd been sleeping before. All the sleepless nights the past couple of weeks were catching up with me. Carlisle moved past me and opened the cabinet to get another glass. He filled it with water and handed it to me before shaking out two blue pills.

"Whenever you want, just take these and you will sleep very peacefully. Ok?" He asked. I nodded and smiled my thanks as I took them. Then he turned and scowled at everyone else. "Enough staring, you three." And then Emmett passed me, winking at me before clapping a hand on Jaspers shoulder.

"Come on, we have a match to finish." He said. Jasper nodded and looked at me over his shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

"I have to go to the hospital will you all be ok here?" He asked Edward. He nodded and Carlisle smiled at me once more before grabbing the keys Emmett had abandoned and went out the back door.

"I walk you back to your room." Edward spoke. I nodded and he stepped in front of me to lead the way. When we got to the living room Jasper and Emmett were sprawled on the floor with Xbox controllers. Behind them a beautiful blonde lounged on the sofa. When we entered she looked up and glared at me. I automatically took a step back and her eyes turned to slits. Edward grabbed my elbow and hurried me up the stairs. When we got to the second floor he let go and gave me an apologetic smile.

"D-did I do something wrong?" I asked in a whisper.

"No." Edward chuckled and continued down the hallway. "That's Rosalie, Emmett's wife and Jaspers twin sister. Don't take whatever she does personally. She's not the happiest person in the world and she lets everyone know it." He opened my bedroom door and walked in. Without a word he went about making my bed the way I had failed too.

"I can do that." I spoke quickly. He shrugged.

"I'll get it. Go get ready for bed." He said, looking me up and down. I suddenly realized I was still wearing my travel wrinkled jeans and t-shirt. Both still a little damp from the rain. Without objecting I set the pills and water on the table beside the bed and grabbed my duffel bag before going into the bathroom. I was happy to find all my clothes were still dry, thanks to the weather proof duffel bag dad had gotten me years before when I went away to summer camp. I pushed the thoughts away and quickly changed, pulling my bedraggled hair up into a pony tail before leaving the bathroom. Edward was fluffing the pillows when I came out and I felt bad that he was doing that for me. He turned and smiled at me.

"Is there anything you need?" He asked. I shook my head and pushed a stray curl behind me ear. He nodded and smiled.

"Goodnight then." He said.

"Goodnight." I muttered. He shut the door behind him and I sat on the edge of the bed to take the pills. After I flicked out the lights I lay back in bed. A certain blonde headed, golden eyed man flooded my mind the last few moments before I fell asleep.

**(Bella's POV)**

"After she settles in, we can take her shopping, let her pick out what color she wants her room to be." Esme said as we carried the many groceries in from the garage. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'd rather not scare her away by going too fast." I said. She nodded as she set the groceries on the counter. Rosalie entered the kitchen, looking as sour faced as I'd last seen her.

"You may want to get in there Esme, Emmett and Edward are at each other's throats again." She said, peeking into the bags with disgust. A second later something shatter from in the living room and voices started to reach us. Esme sighed before hurrying in there with me right behind her. Edward and Emmett stood across from each other, fists clenched. Jasper sat on the floor next to the sofa, looking very interested in the buttons on the Xbox controller.

"What is going on in here?" Esme asked. Edward looked over at us and stood up straighter, squaring his jaw.

"Emmett here thinks it's funny to scare humans." He stated.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not really sure I wanted to hear the answer.

"I accidently scared Willow." Emmett said, shrugging innocently.

"Accidently? I could hear your thoughts Emmett." Edward said in disgust. "You wanted to see if she was as clumsy and jumpy as Bella when she was human." Emmett shrugged with a small smile on his lips.

"And I was right. She is." He said. I glared and whacked him on the back of the head. He winced and rubbed at the spot, grin growing.

"Wonder if she's as feisty too." He muttered.

"You're not going to find out." I hissed. He shrugged and sat back down on the floor, picking up the abandoned controller.

"I like her by the way. I think she is going to be fun to have around." He said. I glared at him as Edward grabbed my arms and tugged me towards the kitchen. When we entered we found Rosalie putting the last can of soup in the cabinets and crumpling up the plastic bags.

"Thanks Rose." I said, getting a little confident that her anger was starting to melt.

"I didn't do it for you I did it because I hate clutter." She hissed, glaring. _And confidence gone_. I sighed and she brushed past me. Edward pulled me close to his him and sighed.

"Just give her time. Remember how long it took for her to warm up to you?" He asked. I sighed and nodded. "She already made it known to Willow that she wasn't happy though." He added with a sigh. I spun around to look at him.

"What?" I gasped.

"Not it words, but she woke up and came down here for water. She met Jasper and Emmett and when I was taking her back to her room, Rosalie was in the living room and glared daggers at her." He sighed. I narrowed my eyes and he sighed again.

"Is she ok?" I asked.

"She was shocked, wondering what's she'd done wrong." He said with a shrug.

"Where is she now?"

"In her room. Carlisle gave her some sleeping pills and she's asleep now." He said.

"Good." I sighed in relief. Then I smiled. "How was Jasper when he met her?" Edward chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. I narrowed my eyes.

"What's so funny?" I asked. He bit his lip.

"Well, they were both thinking the same thing when they saw each other." He said.

"What do you mean?" I was getting a little worried.

"They both thought the other were angels. That they were too beautiful to be human." He chuckled.


	3. Chapter 5 and 6

**Chapter Five**

**(Willow's POV)**

When I woke up something felt strange. I couldn't figure it out. I looked around the room, searching for what it was. I buried my head in the pillows and tried to remember what I'd heard or what I was dreaming. Then it hit me. I hadn't been dreaming. I hadn't been having my usual nightmare. I'd woken up on my own without waking up screaming or crying. I sighed in relief and even smiled a little. I was losing the groggy feeling too. So I was in a pretty good mood. Then I realized where I was and the events that took place the night before. I was in my sister's house. The guilty feeling took over again and I pushed the pillow off my face. I dug around in my bag for my phone to see what time it was. 10:02 it read. I groaned and got up, hoping that I hadn't given Bella and the rest of the family the impression that I was lazy. I thought that maybe taking a shower may improve the impression, that and changing into less wrinkled clothes. Maybe I'd even put on a little makeup and fix my hair. Especially if I'd run into Jasper today. Just the thought of him sent my heart racing. I shook my head and started rummaging through my bag for a clean pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. I took my toiletries in the bathroom. The hot water of the shower took away some of the tight feeling in my back and arms. I scrubbed my hair dry with a towel hanging on a rack and got dressed before applying mascara and a little eye shadow. I didn't pack a hair dryer so I did my best with scrunching it and pulling the front pieces back in a barrette. When I stepped out of my room I was met by freezing air. Did these people never turn the heat on? I dug around my bag again and found a clean black hoodie. Right before I pulled it on, someone knocked on my door.

"Come in." I called a little uncertain. I was relieved when it was Bella that entered. She smiled and tucked a strand of hair that had come undone from the bun at the back of her neck behind her ear.

"Hey. Did you sleep well?" She asked.

"Yeah I did. Thanks to those pills Dr. Cullen gave me." I said as I pulled on the hoodie.

"You can call him Carlisle, everyone does." She said waving her hand in the air dismissively. "I heard the shower running so I knew you were awake. Do you want breakfast?" I hesitated but my stomach answered by grumbling loudly. I blushed and she laughed once, motioning me to follow. She led me down to the kitchen. We didn't run into anyone, which I was happy about, but I was curious where everyone was. So I asked.

"Edward, Emmett, and Rose are at work. Jasper is taking classes at the local College." She said. She pulled out a box of pancake mix. "Want a pancake?"

"Sure." I shrugged. I leaned against the counter as she pulled out a jug of milk and orange juice from the fridge.

"So… is Jasper the youngest of the family?" I asked. She looked at me and frown.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well you said he's in college and Edward was working." I said with a shrug.

"Uh… yeah. He's twenty." She looked away and busied herself with mixing milk into the batter. I looked at her and suddenly noticed something. She didn't look any different from the wedding picture I had in my jean pocket upstairs. Neither did Edward.

"How old are you?" I asked suddenly, surprising myself and, judging by the way Bella's back stiffened, I surprised her too. She turned around slowly and smiled, a little stiffly I noticed.

"I'm thirty-six." She answered. Then she turned away again.

"You guys look good for your age." I tried a little humor and it worked. She laughed and I noticed she relaxed a little.

"You… don't have work today?" I asked, I guessed she worked.

"No I took the day off." She poured the batter into a sizzling pan before turning to face me. "I felt like staying home. I thought…" She shrugged and smiled a little. "…maybe we could get to know each other a little." I didn't say anything. My mind started buzzing and I smiled a little. She wanted to get to know me. Maybe she did want me around. Before I could say anything she turned and flipped a couple of pancakes on a plate and rummaged in the cabinet until she pulled out a bottle of syrup.

"Here you go." She said, handing both out to me. I took them and she motioned to the table in the other room. I took a seat and a few seconds later she joined me, setting a glass of orange juice in front of me.

"You're not eating?" I asked. She smiled and shook her head.

"I ate with Edward this morning." She said.

"Oh yeah. I forgot this isn't exactly 'breakfast'." I said wincing. "I don't usually sleep that long." I added quickly. She waved it off and leaned back in her chair.

"Don't worry about it. You needed to get some rest." She said. I smiled and picked up my fork. I hadn't eaten since a pack of crackers and a coke I'd bought at a gas station while waiting for the taxi. It hadn't been much but I'd bought it with what was left of my measly money stash. It wasn't long before I'd cleared my plate. Bella didn't say anything while I ate. When I finished I pushed my plate away and leaned back in my seat, draining the last of the orange juice. She cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, looking a little uncomfortable. Once again, it felt awkward. Again she cleared her throat and leaned forward.

"I know… it must be hard." She began. "But I have to know…. How did… dad die?" She spoke the last part softly and my stomach fell. _Not this, please. _I cleared my throat and pushed back the tears forming behind my eyelids.

"I'm sorry you don't have to talk about it." Bella spoke quickly and I shook my head.

"No… it's ok." My voice shook a little. "They… they went to a movie and on their way home…. an eighteen wheeler crashed into them. They said he fell asleep at the wheel." I looked up to see her reaction. I could see the horror on her face and the image of bright lights flashed before my eyes again. I hurriedly pushed the image out of my head before I broke down again.

"I'm so sorry Willow." She broke the silence. I cleared my throat and tried to smile but failed. So I nodded. We fell into more uncomfortable silence. Finally, Bella stood up and took my empty plate and glass. I still sat there as she went into the kitchen. I heard her straightening up and a few minutes later she came back and cleared her throat.

"Want to watch a movie?" She asked. I stared her for a moment before I shrugged and nodded. We went into the living room and she motioned for me to sit on the couch while she picked up a remote from under the TV and pointed it at the wall. For a second I thought she was crazy. Then the wall slid apart revealing shelves overflowing with DVD's.

"Oh cool." I couldn't help saying. Bella looked over shoulder and smiled.

"Yeah Emmett and Jasper went through this 'I have to buy every movie there was ever made' phase." She laughed and I smiled. "So Esme had this installed. She thought it made the living room look tacky with all the shelves overflowing with DVD's." She scanned the shelves for a moment before turning to look at me with a sheepish smile.

"Want to come over and pick out something?" She asked. I stood up and went over to her. She wasn't lying about having pretty much every movie ever made.

"What's your favorite type of movie?" She asked.

"Um… I like comedies. And I really like the old ones. Like Jerry Lewis and Doris Day." I shrugged. She smiled and scanned the shelf for a second before pulling out a DVD.

"How about an Audrey Hepburn's How to Steel a Million?" She asked. I smiled, I hadn't seen that one but she was one of my favorite actresses. She put it on and we got settled on the sofa. We watched that one and she put on a John Wayne movie. Halfway through that one the front door opened and Jasper came in, looking beautiful as ever in dark jeans and a button down blue shirt, rolled up to his elbows and a backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Hey Jasper, how was school?" Bella asked. He shrugged without turning around as he shoved the backpack behind a chair.

"Boring as hell." He muttered, sinking down into the chair next to the sofa, the one closer to me. My heart pounded in my chest and I cleared my throat, looking down at my lap and picking at a loose string on my jacket. It was hard paying attention to the movie with him sitting right there. I really wished my heart would settle down. Bella and Jasper talked for a while about his college courses but I was too nervous with the fact he was only two feet from me to pay much attention. That's why I almost screamed when the front door burst open and Carlisle and Edward burst in, looking a little panicked. By a little I mean they looked like they found out the world was about to end and they had run a couple of miles to get here.

"Bella, Jasper meet me in my study now." He ordered. Jasper looked at Edward and he nodded once. Bella got up and looked at me apologetically.

"I'll just be a minute." She said. I had a sudden urge to just go to my room. Everything had all of a sudden gotten really awkward.

"Actually, I think I'm going to go up to my room." I said quickly. She nodded sadly and followed Edward and the rest of them down the hallway. I hurried up the stairs to my room. It wasn't until I knew there was a floor and a few rooms between Jasper and I that my heart finally started to settle down. I seriously had no idea why I was feeling this way. I'd never been this way around guys. But… there was something strange about Jasper. I collapsed on my bed with a huff and buried my head in the pillows. I was a fool to believe that things were going to get easier when I met my sister.

**(Bella's POV)**

"What's going on?" I asked when Carlisle shut the door behind us. Edward wrapped an arm around my waist.

"You remember years ago when we had that war between us and Victoria?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said. Of course I remembered that.

"You remember how when I killed her…. the kid that was there with her… he ran?"

"Yes." I was getting very curious as to where this was leading.

"Carlisle got a call from the Denali's." Edward turned so he was facing me. "They saw him running around in Alaska. He was asking questions about us, where we were. He's sworn vengeance on the Cullen family." I relaxed a little. I even smiled some. Edward frowned and opened his mouth to say something but Jasper beat him.

"What are you smiling about?" He asked curiously. I shrugged and laughed once.

"It's not really something to worry about, its eight vampires against a lone scrawny one." I said. Edward shook his head slowly and he sighed.

"Sweet heart. He's already started." He said softly. I frowned.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He caused the wreck that killed your parents." Carlisle answered when Edward couldn't. I snapped my attention to him, feeling as though I'd just been slapped.

"What?" I gasped.

"He caused the car wreck. He knows he can't come after us because he'd be dead in an instant." Carlisle said. He sighed before continuing with a hard edge to his tone. "He grew another army and he's after Willow."

**Chapter Six**

**(Bella's POV)**

I sat down on the edge of the sofa. He killed my dad. And he was after Willow. Edward sat down beside me and put a hand on my shoulder. I swallowed hard before looking up at Carlisle.

"What are we going to do?" I asked weakly. He leaned against his desk and shrugged.

"We're just going to have to be alert." He said. "Watch Willow and make sure she doesn't leave this property without one of us with her." I nodded in agreement and clenched my hands together.

"We'll have to act normal so she doesn't get suspicious. Unless," Edward looked at me, frowning in thought. "you want to go ahead and tell her about us and what's going on." Edward added. I looked at him. I hadn't thought of that. The thought had crossed my mind earlier that I would have to tell Willow about us sooner or later. But I had decided later would be better. That way she would know that we aren't going to hurt her. I was scared of how she would react if we told her now. I shook my head.

"I would like to hold off as long as we can." I said. "I don't want to scare her away."

"Ok, we will wait and tell her later on." Carlisle agreed. "We'll take turns patrolling the area for his scent. At night we can take turns guarding her window."

"I just wonder how long it's going to take him to strike." Jasper said. I looked at him and swallowed again.

"Well he's already made his first move. I expect it won't take him long." Carlisle said. We fell into silence, each of us in our own thoughts. Fears and images of what would happen if we didn't succeed in protecting my sister flashed through my mind. What if we failed? I would never forgive myself. The seat next to me shifted and I was brought out of my thoughts when Jasper put his arm around my shoulder. In seconds I was calm and I smiled my thanks at him. He gave me a slight smile.

"We won't let anything happen to her." He said softly. I nodded and he stood up, heading for the door. "I'll take the first watch tonight." He said before disappearing out the door. Edward tightened his arm around my waist and I leaned into his comforting embrace. The sound of a car parking out front and running footsteps outside sent me to panicking again.

"It's just Esme, Emmett, and Rose." Edward assured me quickly, standing up and pulling me with him. Carlisle was already in the living room, hugging Esme tightly by the time we got there. Emmett stood looking out the window and Rose leaned against the closed door with her arms folded, Jasper stood in front of her with a frown. Emmett turned to face us with a serious expression. An expression he rarely used.

"We followed a scent from the bus station to the driveway." He said. My breath caught in my throat.

"Was it Riley's?" Edward asked. Rose sighed and shook her head.

"It wasn't him. It was probably one of his followers." She said.

"Edward…" My words faded and Edward pulled me into his arms.

"Edward, you Emmett and Jasper will patrol outside tonight. Jasper I want you…" Carlisle faded off and I froze. The floor above us creaked and I heard Willow's nervous breathing. I looked up towards the staircase. A second later she started coming down the stairs, looking down at the floor, hair covering half her face. She froze at the bottom step when she noticed all of us staring at her. So much for acting normal.

**(Willow's POV)**

Seven pairs of golden eyes were glued to me. I cursed myself for being thirsty. I'd been hoping they hadn't returned to the living room yet. No such luck. My throat went even dryer. Why were they staring at me? Bella cleared her throat and smiled. There was something behind her smile though.

"Hey, do you need something?" She asked.

"I-I just needed s-some water." I spoke almost in a whisper but she heard me. She nodded and motioned for me to follow her. I avoided making eye contact with the others in the room and hurried after Bella.

"Did I interrupt something?" I asked when we got to the kitchen.

"No, no we were just having a little discussion." She said tossing me a water bottle from the refrigerator. I took a long drink leaning against the counter. It was a little awkward. Something told me I had interrupted more than 'a little discussion'. Bella cleared her throat, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Do you want to finish the movie?" She asked.

"Sure." I said with a shrug. We went back to the living and found that only Esme and Rosalie were left in the living room. Esme sat with her feet propped up on the coffee stable, sketch pad on her lap.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked. Esme looked up and smiled.

"Putting some finishing touches on the Evans' cake." She said. I glanced at Bella and she smiled.

"Esme makes wedding cakes as a hobby." She explained.

"Oh that's cool." I said. Esme smiled proudly and motioned me over. On the pad she had drawn a three layer cake with roses drawn on the sides.

"Wow that's beautiful." I said in awe. She had some drawing skills.

"You think so?" She asked, wrinkling her nose. "I can't decide if I want to do roses or just simple daisies. The bride, Megan, picked out white and light pink for her colors. I was thinking of leaving the icing white and the flowers pink."

"I like that idea." Bella said as she restarted the movie. Esme nodded and flipped the page to start over on the picture. This time she drew daisies. When she finished she held both pictures and studied both of them.

"I think I like the roses better." She decided, crumpling up daisy cake picture and tossing it on the coffee table. The rest of the evening we watched movies and Esme told me about some of the cakes she'd done. I got a little hungry and, before I could ask, Bella went to the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with a sandwich on a plate. Once again neither she nor Esme ate. This whole time Rosalie sat in the recliner with her arms crossed silently. But when Bella brought the sandwich she scoffed.

"That looks disgusting." She said in disgust. It was just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My face flushed and I quickly ate as Bella glared at her. When I finished I stood up to take my tray to the kitchen.

"I'll get it." Esme said standing up and taking the plate from me. Rosalie had suddenly made me feel very unwanted in this room.

"Bella, I think I'm going to go up to my room." I spoke in whisper so Rose wouldn't hear.

"You don't have to leave on account of Rosalie being unsociable." Bella didn't speak in a whisper and Rosalie scoffed again.

"No I'm… I'm kind of tired all of a sudden." That really wasn't a lie. Actually, a hot shower and that really comfy bed upstairs sounded really great. Bella hesitated before nodding with a sad smile.

"It's around my bedtime too so I'll walk you up." She stood up and we went upstairs in silence. I didn't dare glance at Rosalie. Right before I went into my room Bella stopped me.

"Honestly Willow, don't let Rose get to you." I turned to look at her and she smiled a little. "She can be a bitch when it comes to new people. She was mean to me when I first came along." I felt a little bit better as Bella went into her room. After a long hot shower I felt even more tired. A stopped mid step when a cold breeze sent chills up my spine. My window was open. I shivered and pulled the t-shirt in my hands over my head before going to pull it shut. I had no idea how it had come open though. I didn't think I had opened it. But then again, I was so tired I might have done it without remembering. I sighed and shook my head as I leaned out to pull the window closed. That's when a hand reached up and pulled me down by the collar of my shirt. To say I was shocked is an understatement. I screamed as I fell into the darkness. Right when I should have hit the ground I stopped. It took me a second to realize what had stopped me. A pair of arms flipped me so I was upright. Only my legs would let me stand. There was a screeching noise echoing in the dark forest but I had no idea where it was coming from. Until a hard hand slapped over my mouth and a voice cursed in my ear.

"Shut up!" A velvety voice hissed. I'd been screaming. The shock was starting to wear off and I suddenly realized what was happening. I had been pulled out of my window and I was being kidnapped. The years of being trained by a policeman father to protect myself took over and I used my elbow to jab into my captors gut. That only resulted in me getting a bruised elbow and a laugh in my ear. I spun around to see my captor but all I could see was a dark outline. It was too dark me to see anything. So I settled for trying to scream for help. The hand over my mouth made that really hard though.

"Riley!" A voice yelled from behind me. Relief sunk in my stomach when I recognized that smooth southern drawl of Jasper. The guy cursed heavily again but didn't let me go.

"Willow!" Bella gasped somewhere behind me.

"I'm not Riley." My captor hissed. "But he does send a message." I had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on but at the moment I was only worried about getting away from this psycho man. I struggled and he moved his grip to my wrists, spinning me around so I was facing three other shadows. I was about to try struggling again when I was knocked to the ground with such force I slid across the wet grass. A smaller pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me up.

"I'm so sorry Willow." Bella whispered in my ear. At that moment the side lights of the house came on and I blinked at the sudden brightness.

"Who is it?" I heard Carlisle's voice and a cool hand rested on my shoulder. I jumped a little and looked back to see Esme watching me with motherly concern.

"He hasn't said anything." Edward said in a hard voice. "But I've read from his thoughts that his name is Joseph and he was scouting for Riley. The scent of Willows blood was too much for him and he went after her." I'd caught the first part of his words, but there other half sounded like a foreign language. What the hell was he talking about? I looked at Bella and was about to ask her what he was talking about when a loud growl sounded from behind me and I spun around to see that Edward, Emmet, and Jasper were holding the man down to the ground. I could see his face from between Edward's legs and I gasped in horror. His eyes were blood red, un-human. And he was looking at me with bared sharp looking teeth. Drool trickled down his chin and my heartbeat sped up. That made the man/creature let out a strangled half growl half groaning noise that made my blood go cold. Bella's arms tightened around me.

"What do we do with him?" Emmett asked as the thing struggled against him, his gaze not leaving my direction. Carlisle didn't answer for a moment.

"Kill him." When he spoke he spoke in barely a whisper and I knew all the color, what was left at least, had drained from my face. "Bella take Willow inside." Bella didn't say anything but started to pull me towards the open kitchen door. Rosalie was leaning against the doorframe scowling. Not at me but towards the creature behind me. The growling got louder and Bella started moving faster. A loud crack startled me and I looked around behind us though Bella tried to stop me. What I saw was enough to make my stomach go sour and bile start to rise in my throat. Emmett had a triumphant smile on his face. Then he saw me staring and it slowly slipped, as well as the head of the man he'd been holding by the hair in his hand.


	4. Chapter 7 and 8

**New Life**

**Chapter Seven**

**(Bella's POV)**

She'd stopped and was staring open mouthed and very pale looking at the head hanging from Emmett's hands.

"Bella get her inside!" Edward yelled and I tugged her hard into the kitchen. She snapped out of her shocked state and yanked away from me, backing up against the counter and staring at me with large frightened eyes.

"W-what…?" She croaked but nothing else came out. She swallowed hard and put her shaking hand over her mouth. I could hear the ripping noise outside and her face paled even more so I knew she heard it too.

"Willow I…." I stopped when she looked up and I saw her expression. She was scared of me.

"What the hell are you guys?" She asked barely over a whisper and pain struck my dead heart.

"Willow we're not going to hurt you." I said softly taking a step towards her then stopped when she flinched away. I heard the back door open and I could see Willow slowly started to relax though the fear stayed in her eyes. I looked back at Jasper leaning against the wall beside the door. Though Jasper always looked serious there was a special hardness to it this time.

"What… what's going on?" I looked back at Willow as she sagged against the counter, hand still over her mouth. I swallowed hard and opened my mouth to speak when I heard a rather loud snort behind me. I looked around and suddenly remembered Rosalie was standing there against the counter.

"Go on and tell her Bella. I've been waiting for this ever since she arrived." She said smugly, waving her hand towards Willow. I glared at her and Jasper sent her a look. Carlisle and Esme came in at that moment and glanced at all of us curiously.

"Carlisle you're the boss of this house. Tell Bella to tell Willow what she should have in the first place." Rosalie said turning her attention to them.

"Rosalie." Esme said shocked.

"Rosalie, leave now." Carlisle demanded between clenched teeth.

"There is no easy way to tell her." She laughed once without humor and looked at Willow.

"Rose!" I hissed.

"Willow you see we're not exactly a normal family," Rose started and I glared at her.

"Shut up, Rose." Jasper hissed.

"You see we're-"

"Rosalie Cullen!"

"-Vampires." I could have ripped her head off at that moment but I was too occupied with seeing how Willow's reaction was. Her expression didn't change. She was looking at Rosalie with the same big fearful eyes she'd been looking at me with. For a long time nobody said anything.

"Go help Emmett, Rose." Carlisle finally broke the silence with a voice that shook with anger. Rosalie scoffed and I heard her heels clicking on the hardwood floor and the door slam shut behind her.

"What kind of sick family is this?" Willow finally spoke and pain hit me again. This was not how I'd planned on telling her about us.

"Willow… what she said it isn't… I mean…" I was at loss for words on how to fix this. All of a sudden she snapped out of her fearful state and anger flashed across her face as tears welled in her eyes.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" She hissed. I gaped at her. "I mean I know I shocked you by coming here, but if you wanted me to leave you didn't have to cause a scene like that."_ She thought I planned all this to get her to leave? _I slowly shook my head and looked back at Carlisle for help. He looked just as shocked as me. Only he snapped out of it faster than me and stepped forward, clearing his throat.

"Willow… it's not a sick joke." He began and looked at me as if asking for permission to continue. I really had no idea how to take control of this situation so I nodded for him to go on. "We didn't plan on telling you this way. What Rosalie said…. it is true. But we aren't going to hurt you I swear." I looked back at Willow. The tears had slipped down her cheeks and she looked scared again.

"I-it can't be true." She whispered. "V-vampires aren't… real." I swallowed hard again and shook my head.

"No Willow… vampires… we are real." I said softly. She looked at me then at everyone in the room.

"H-how can…. How can that be true?" She looked like she was about to puke. I shrugged and looked at Carlisle.

"I don't know we just… do." Was all he said. Again we fell into an uncomfortable silence and I had no idea what to say. She swallowed hard and her face turned even greener. Now she had both her hands over her mouth as she dashed for the hall bathroom. She slammed the door shut and I turned to look at Carlisle.

"Why did Rosalie do that?" I asked weakly. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"I don't know but I am going to have a talk with her." He said.

"What are you going to do?" Esme asked him, reach out to take his arm.

"If she is going to continue acting like this, then I have to ask her to leave." He said. Pain flashed across Esme's face and guilt formed in the pit of my stomach. We were all like her children and it always worried her whenever any of us just went on a vacation. She was always worried we would leave and never come back. I knew that's what she was thinking right now.

**(Willow's POV)**

I splashed cool water over my face. Though it cooled my face a little it did nothing to stop the rapid beating of my heart or the thoughts reeling through my head. Vampires? The Cullen's were vampires? My sister was a vampire? It was hard to wrap my head around that. But the more I thought about it the more things made since. Like how Bella and Edward looked exactly like they had the day of their wedding. Why they were all so pale and I never once saw any of them eat. I remembered the way Bella had tensed when I'd asked how old she was and the pause when I asked if Jasper was the youngest of them all. It might also explain why they all looked inhumanely beautiful. I splashed more water on my face and tried to swallow more bile that threatened to come up. What was I going to do? The part of me that had seen way too many horror movies told me to run. The other half told me to trust them. Yet another part of me told me if I did run I wouldn't get far because in all the vampire movies I'd seen they were pretty fast. I wondered if the Cullen's were like Hollywood vampires. I shook my head and looked at my reflection in the mirror as if my answer lay there. In a strange way it did. Though Bella was far more beautiful than me I could see the resemblance. Her eyes were shaped like mine we both had the same color hair. Though she could style hers better than I ever could. But still, you could tell we were sisters. And I didn't think my sister would hurt me no matter what she had become. The way Bella had been caring for me the past couple of days I'd been there went through my mind and I shook my head. If she had any plans for hurting me she hid them well. I swallowed hard. I could at least maybe get a few answers from her before I made my decision if I should leave or stay. So I splashed more water on my face and tried to control the rapid beating of my heart before I stepped out of the bathroom. I slowly re-entered the kitchen and found nobody there. I was about to leave when I saw Edward and Bella sitting at the dining table in the dining room. Edward had his arm around her waist and she stared at the table, biting her lip and clenching her fists in her lap. I cleared my throat and she looked up at me.

"F-first of all," I tried to gather strength in my voice but it still only came out kind of squeaky. "Are you going to hurt me? Are you going to…. eat… me?" Bella slowly shook her head and sighed.

"I know you have a lot of questions. And I'm willing answer all of them. The answer to that one is no. I would rather die a thousand painful deaths than hurt you." She answered slowly but in a stronger voice than I could ever manage. I studied her, trying to see any sign that she was lying but didn't see any. Edward cleared his throat and motioned to the chair opposite them. I slowly edged forward and took the seat, sitting on the very edge and up straight.

"Secondly, I'd like to know how… when this… happened." I said. Bella nodded and leaned against the table.

"When I was seventeen I came to Forks to live with Charlie. I was enrolled in Forks high and that's where I met Edward." She motioned to Edward and smiled a little. "He and the rest of his family were already vampires when I met them. We dated until we graduated and then he proposed. I didn't want to marry him though if I was going to grow old and die. For a long time he refused but eventually I won. After our honeymoon… he changed me." She stopped and seemed to be studying me.

"Y-you mean… you just dropped everything… to become a vampire?" I knew my face must look as shocked as I felt and sounded to my own ears. Bella cleared her throat and shook her head.

"No… Edward saved me." She said softly. I frowned, curious as to what she meant. She looked up and smiled sadly. "I… I was almost dead and he saved me." I didn't know what to say to that.

"H-how did you almost die?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Well, we were shopping in Seattle and he went to get the car. I was attacked by some muggers; Edward came back and in the midst of the struggle… I was stabbed in the stomach by a random knife." I winced and looked at Edward whose jaw had gone really stiff.

"I regret ever leaving your side." He said gently. Bella rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

"You know I don't regret it." Then she looked back at me. "I would have stayed as long as I could. Probably would have been there to see dad get remarried. But it was too dangerous. I was a young vampire and it was very hard to get control of my blood lust. We moved to a secluded place in Alaska with some family friends until I was under control. By that time I had lost contact with dad." Pain flashed across her face and I felt guilty for feeling anger at her for that. She couldn't help what had happened to her and she was trying to protect her family. We fell into silence and I tried to think of more things I needed to know.

"Are all… vampires as controlled as you?" I asked. In books and movies they were all about controlling the world and taking over humans.

"Unfortunately no." Edward answered that with a crooked smile. "We are what we call as a joke, vegetarians."

"You mean, you don't… drink… blood?" Hope rose in my chest.

"No we still do." Edward said. "But only animals. Not humans." He quickly added when my hear sped back up.

"You guys are the only ones that do that?" I asked, fear rising again. There was no telling how many vampires were out in the world. My face drained of color when I realized there could have been times I met one.

"Not the only ones but very rarely vampires trade in human blood for animal." Bella said with a sigh. My stomach rolled again and I thought it best to get off this subject.

"So… that man out there…" I motioned toward the back door and Edward nodded slowly.

"Yes he is… was a vampire." He answered.

"Why… why was he after me?" The memory of being pulled out of the window flashed before my eyes and I shivered.

"Well, that's a bit of a long story." Bella said with a sigh. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. I think I deserved the long story. Edward chuckled and leaned back in his own chair.

"No doubt about it. You two are very much alike. You're both…. Stubborn." He said shaking his head with a smile. Bella sighed again and leaned back.

"I'll try to make this as short as I can." She said. "When I was human the Cullen's were playing a game of baseball and a small group of vampires came across us. One of them, James apparently really liked the smell of my blood and wanted me. He was going to kill me. Only the Cullen's ended up killing him first." Bella looked up at me again. When I didn't say anything she continued. "His mate, Victoria, swore revenge on us and came after me. Again, long story short, we won she's dead." I felt like I was in another world. Its strange how not an hour ago I had no idea vampires were real and I was living with them.

"W-what does that have to do with the…. Vampire that tried to get me?" I asked.

"Before Victoria died, she's met another mate, Riley." Edward answered. "He got away when we killed her. He was in love and we just learned from some of our friends that he has sworn revenge on us." I gaped at him.

"So-so they a-are trying to kill me to…"

"To get to me." Bella finished softly. I felt like the room was spinning. There were actually vampires after me?

"Yes, but we aren't going to let them get you." Edward said. I felt a little better but not much. I cleared my throat.

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Bella asked. I slowly shook my head and she stood up. "I'm going to ask Carlisle if he can give you a couple of those pills. You've been through a lot tonight and you need some rest." I nodded and stood up to go to my room. When I got to the living room I stopped. Jasper was lounging on the sofa with the TV on some history channel. He looked up when I came in.

"You ok?" He asked.

"A-as good as I can be I guess." I said weakly. I tried to stop the rapid thrumming of my heart at the sound of his voice and the fact that he was a vampire.

"Carlisle said to take two of these." I jumped at Bella's voice behind me and she winced.

"Sorry." She said, handing out a glass of water and two pink pills. I took them hoped they didn't notice the way my hand shook. "Come on." She said motioning towards the stairs. I followed her up and she entered my room. She didn't say anything as she shut my window and locked it before turning back to me. Again I wondered if things would ever feel more comfortable between us. She cleared her throat and stepped forward.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" She asked. I shook my head and managed a smile.

"Then… I'll leave you to get some rest." She said heading towards the door. Then something entered my mind and I just had to know.

"How old is everyone really?" I blurted out. She turned around to face me and laughed a little.

"Well, I'm 37, the youngest of us all." She said, leaning against the wall.

"So, Jasper isn't the youngest." I said.

"No actually, he's one of the oldest." She said. I swallowed, a little frightened.

"H-how old is he really?"

"He's close to 200." I felt my mouth fall open and she laughed a little.

"And he's… not the oldest?" I asked incredulously.

"Nope." She smiled and shook her head. "Carlisle is."

"And… he's how old?"

"Almost 400." She shrugged as if it was nothing.

"Wow." Was all I managed.

"Ok, if you have any more questions I will be glad to answer them. But I think you've heard enough for tonight." She said opening the bedroom door. I nodded and her smile turned sad.

"I'm really sorry… for how you found out." She said. I shrugged and managed a smile. Without saying anything else she left. When she was gone I dropped on the bed, feeling more exhausted than I ever had in my life. I'm still amazed that with everything I had been through tonight I was able to fall into a peaceful sleep.

**Chapter Eight**

**(Willow's POV)**

I was trying to decide which was worse, finding out I was being hunted by a crazy vampire or having two vampires trying to make me decide on a color for my room.

"Look at the purples." Bella kept shoving a piece of paper with every color of purple you can imagine on it towards. Honestly, I had no idea there were so many colors.

"Or, the yellows." Esme argued holding the yellow paper out to me. "Yellow is so bright every time you look at it you'll feel happy." I sighed and slouched down on the sofa. Emmett looked back at me from where he was battling Edward on the Xbox with some war game.

"Actually, when I look at yellow, I think of lemons… or urine." He said frowning in disgust.

"Well that's your mind Emmett." Bella said in disgust. "And I don't think anyone wants to know what's on your mind." It had been a week since I'd arrived at the Cullen's and there had been no more attacks. Other than Esme and Bella trying to force me to pick what color bedding I wanted and what kind of clothing did I like to wear? Did I want a TV in my room? All these decisions and the amount of money they wanted to spend on me made my head spin. I'd tried to tell her I didn't want any of those things and that I was fine with what I had.

"Willow, you brought a total of two pairs of jeans, one pair of shoes, three t-shirts and a torn hoodie." She'd looking at my incredulously.

"So…?" I said with a shrug. She shook her head.

"I'm getting these things for you and you can't stop me. So you better help me pick out what you want or you'll be living in a Pepto-Bismol pink themed room and wearing frilly dresses the rest of your life." She'd threatened. After studying her expression for a moment I decided she wasn't kidding and agreed to help her. She'd smiled in triumph and hugged me.

"Just think of it as all the birthday and Christmas presents I missed out on buying you ok?" She asked. I reluctantly nodded and that's when we ended up here on the sofa, me sitting between Bella and Esme with a list written on a notepad of what we would be getting when we went shopping.

"She doesn't like any of those." Edward sighed and I glared at him. He looked around and grinned at me. In the past week I'd learned a couple of things. A couple of the Cullen's had some gifts. Edward could read minds. I found that out the hard and embarrassing way. We'd gone shopping for clothes and I'd spent four hours straight in dressing rooms, trying on all kinds of clothes without any breaks. I was in desperate need of the bathroom and I was a little embarrassed to say it. Carlisle had insisted that Jasper, Emmett, and Edward go along as protection. It wasn't until we were in the car with Edward driving his shiny Volvo, Jasper in the passenger seat and me sitting between Bella and Emmett that he spoke up.

"Oh, for the love of all that's holy, Willow!" He'd exploded, causing me to jump. "If you have to pee then say something don't be embarrassed." I gaped at him and Bella looked at me. After I got over my shock I blushed and clenched my teeth. We ended up stopping at a gas station and I refused to look at any of them when I got out and when I got back in. My face only got redder when Emmett kept snorting, trying to hold back his laughter.

"How did you know?" I'd asked when I got back in the car.

"Edward can read minds." Emmett said. My mouth dropped open and I looked at Bella and she nodded with a sigh. I snapped my mouth closed and my face burned even more.

"Is that like…. A vampire thing or is it just you?" I asked.

"Just me. Sometimes after a human is changed, they can gain abilities." He explained. I looked at Bella.

"Do you have abilities?" I asked.

"Yeah." She said sheepishly.

"What is it?"

"It's… kind of like a shield. I can shield myself and others from other vampire's abilities. Liked Edward can only read my mind when I let him." She explained. Just when I thought my life couldn't get any stranger, it did,

"Does anyone else have… powers?" I asked.

"Jasper can feel emotions. It's part of why he's sometimes a grouch." Emmett answered. He was rewarded by a glare from Jasper. Every time I saw his face it still amazed me at how handsome he was. I was thinking that when I caught Edwards smirk in the rearview mirror. Once again, my face blazed and I sank down in my seat, silent the rest of the way home.

"You don't like these?" Bella brought me back to the present and I looked back at the purple sheet. I slowly shook my head. She put it down and picked up the other sheets of colors.

"So which one do you like then?" She asked. I glanced at all the colors before sighing and throwing my hands up in the air.

"I really don't care Bella." I groaned. She narrowed her eyes before smirking and dropping all the pieces of paper back on the coffee table except the sheet with all the different shades of pink.

"Ok then, I'll pick." She said with a shrug. I glared at her and snatched up the stack of papers.

"You're an evil vampire you know that?" I grumbled. She winked.

"And don't you forget it." She said smugly. That's when Carlisle entered the room with Jasper. He sat down in front of us on the coffee table and Jasper leaned against the stair railing with his arms folded. His gaze flicked to mine and I swear our eyes were hooked for a second. Then he looked away and studied the floor. My heart sped up and I wished so much that he would look back at me again.

"How's it going?" Carlisle asked, and I remembered he was sitting in front of me. I looked at him and cleared my throat, trying to ignore the raised eyebrow look Edward was giving me.

"Good." I managed to say without stuttering.

"Good." He smiled. "I just wanted to let you know that I was able to get you into the school." This made my stomach drop. Bella had insisted that I finish my senior year in high school. I'd found out that because of how young Bella and everyone else looked they always started over in high school whenever they relocated. It made me feel a little better when I found out Bella, Edward, and Jasper were "graduating" this year so I would have a few classes with them, though I was still nervous. I had never been the kind to be comfortable around new people. And starting my senior year in the middle of a semester where everyone has already gotten into a routine? Not doing anything to settle my nerves.

"You'll be starting Monday." Carlisle brought me out of my thoughts and I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I nodded. This was Friday; it gave me two full days to prepare myself.

"Ok, we can go to Home-Depot tomorrow and get the paint so we can start painting your room. How does that sound?" Bella asked.

"Sounds like a plan." I said with a shrug.

"Good. Now if you could just think of what color you want." She said pointing to the papers in my hands. I groaned and dropped my head back. Edward sighed and paused the game before turning around to face us.

"Ok Willow, blurt out the first colors that come to your mind on the count of three." He said. I shook my head.

"I don't want to-"

"One-"

"Seriously?" Bella laughed.

"Two."

"Dude never pause my games without warning me." Emmett glared at him.

"Three!" I didn't say anything. I couldn't think when I was under pressure. Two colors had popped in my head but mom had always said it was too gothic.

"It didn't work." Bella said resting her palm in her hand.

"Yes it did. She thought of a black and white." Edward said smirking at me. I glared at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Really Willow?" Bella asked curiously.

"Yeah. I always wanted a black and white themed room." I said sheepishly. Bella grinned and grabbed the notebook.

"Then black and white it will be." Esme said patting my shoulder.

"Do you want the walls black or so you just want black furniture and comforters?" Bella asked. We decided on getting black comforters and black and white drapes for the canopy bed. That way it wouldn't be so dark and gothic like. We made a list of things and set a time for us to go shopping. By the time we were done Carlisle had been called to his office and Rosalie had joined us in the living room.

"Are you ready to go?" Rosalie asked, stepping in front of the coffee table, avoiding eye contact with me and looking at Bella. My stomach dropped and I tried to block the images of what she was talking about from my head. Bella had explained to me that they had to feed at least once a week to stay in control. Emmett, Carlisle, Edward, and Jasper had gone the night before and just gotten home that morning so they could stay home with me while the others went hunting. My plans were to go to fix me a quick supper, go up to my room, have a nice hot bath and read one of the books Bella had leant me.

"I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon and we'll go shopping." Bella said standing up and handing me the notepad. Esme got up too and smoothed her hair back into a ponytail.

"If there is anything else you can think of that you need or want write it down." She said. I nodded and stood up to get ready to go to my room. Bella hugged me tightly and then they were out the door. I grabbed the papers and notepad before going to the kitchen. I made a quick sandwich and grabbed a bottle of water before heading back to the living room. The guys had switched to watching a sport channel and Edward looked up when I started heading up the stairs.

"Are we too boring to hang out with?" He asked and I could hear the teasing tone in his voice.

"No, I just have more important things to do." I said with a shrug.

"Enjoy your bath." He said smirking and I glared at him with blushing cheeks and ran up the stairs. I ate quickly while the huge Jacuzzi tub filled with bubbles and steaming water. I lay out a t-shirt and boy boxer shorts before I sank into the deep water. It had started to thunder outside and out of the corner of my eye I could see lightening lighting up the world outside from the window above the toilet. I didn't think anything of it and dunk my head under the water. What I wouldn't give to have a stereo at the moment. I made a mental note that when Bella asked where I wanted the stereo I'd tell her I wanted it in the bathroom. I had been soaking for a while and the water was starting to go cold when I finally decided to get out. The storm outside had gotten worse and rain was beating at the window. I was going under for one last dunk and when I came back up the room was pitch black. For a second I sat there panicking, thinking I'd gone mysteriously blind. Until the room lit up by the lightening and I realized the power had gone out. I cursed and felt around the edge of the tub for my towel. I found it and slowly climbed out of the tub. It would be just my luck to slip and knock myself out. But I managed to avoid that catastrophe. It took a while to locate my clothes and it wasn't easy dressing in the pitch blackness. I felt around for the door and sighed in relief when I found it. I was debating on trying to find my way downstairs or just finding my bed and getting under the covers when a bright flash of lightening revealed a figure sitting on my bed. I screamed and backed up, banging into the bathroom door with the doorknob stabbing into my back.

"It's me." I recognized the silky southern drawl and it did nothing to settle my heart beat. Only this time it wasn't all from fear.

"W-what are you d-doing in h-here?" I whispered, getting a little pissed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was coming up to see if you were all right." He said. The next flash of lightening showed him standing up.

"I'm fine. Just a little freaked out."I managed. He chuckled and we fell into an uncomfortable silence.

"I think we have some flashlights in the garage. Would you like me to get you one?" He asked.

"Actually, that would be great." I said with a nervous laugh.

"I'll be back in a minute." He said before I heard my door open and nothing else. I used the lightening to find my way to the bed and sat down with my hands in my lap. My heart was still beating pretty hard. Jasper had been in my room because he was worried about me. It made me nervous and excited at the same time. Then I cursed at myself. Why was I excited? He was just being kind. It's not like he cared for me or anything. At that thought I became a little sad. I found myself wishing he did care about me. An image of the way Edward looked at Bella all the time flashed through my mind. I wondered what it would be like to get those loving looks from Jasper. At the thought my face flushed and I squeezed my hands into fists. I really needed to stop thinking about stuff like that before Edward heard me and told Bella. How embarrassing would that be if she found out, then suddenly everyone in the house knew? Especially Jasper. I was pulled out of my thoughts when a light shown into my room. Jasper was back.

"I brought you a couple of candles." He said as the light came closer. He set the flashlight on the bed beside me and I picked it up, pointing it to see what he was doing. He set two thick candles on my bedside table and pulled a cigarette lighter from his pocket to light them. Then he took one to the bathroom and lit it on the counter. He lit three more on my window sill and my room was bathed in warm glowing light. I turned off the flashlight and sat back on my bed, pulling my knees up to my chest.

"Emmett and Edward are out patrolling the perimeter." He said leaning against the wall. I couldn't help but notice how sexy he looked in the light of the candles. My heart stuttered and I suddenly felt nervous. I cleared my throat and tried to think of something to say. Nothing came to mind and Jasper broke the silence.

"Do storms make you nervous?" He asked suddenly. I was a little confused.

"W-why do you ask?" I wondered.

"I can feel that your nervous." He shrugged. "I was just curious." Shit. I can't exactly tell him the reason I'm nervous is because I'm alone in a bedroom with candles as the only light and he is the sexiest guy I've ever seen.

"Yeah a little." I finally answered, which really wasn't a lie. When I was a kid I'd been terrified of storms. I'd grown out of it by the time I was a teenager though but I still got a little nervous during bad weather.

"Do you mind if I ask why you got nervous when Carlisle mentioned school?" He asked. I could tell he wasn't trying to be nosey. He sounded a little… strange. Like he was nervous too. Though I had no idea what he could be nervous about.

"I-I get nervous when it comes to new things." I answered. "Starting a new school in the middle of a semester is a little nerve racking to me."

"Ah, well I can understand that." He said with a light chuckle. I smiled. I liked the way his chuckles sounded. I finally got the courage to look at him and when I did I saw the corner of his mouth lifted in a half grin and I held my breath. He had nice lips. I wondered what they would feel like. On mine for instance. My door opened at that moment, and Edward walked in. He looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I realized he had heard what I'd just thought. My face burned and I desperately wanted to disappear. He smirked and entered the room.

"I came to bring you a flashlight but I see Jasper has already taken care of that." He said waving a flashlight in the air. Before either of us could say anything the lights flickered on and I winced. Had the lights been that bright before?

"Thank God." Edward sighed in relief. "Emmett was going to make us play a game of Risk of the power didn't come back on soon." Jasper winced and smiled. I got up and blew out the candles on my bedside table. When I turned around I saw Jasper had done the same to the ones on the window and was getting the one in the bathroom.

"We'll leave you to get some rest." He said coming out and stopping, staring at me. A small smile graced his lips and he shook his head as he headed towards the door.

"I'll leave the candles and flashlight in case the power goes out again." He said as he passed Edward. Edward watched him go and looked at me with a raised brow. I blushed again and wondered just how close Edward and Bella were. Like, did they share everything with each other?

"Goodnight Willow." He said, pushing away from the wall. I watched him as he started to the door. Then he paused with the door still cracked open. He gave me a crooked grin and winked.

"Don't worry Will." He said. "I won't tell Bella about anything….private that you think of." Then he was gone. I gritted my teeth and stood up to go drain the water in my bath tub. When I saw my reflection in the mirror I stopped. Somehow during my blind dressing, my shirt had gotten caught on my bra and was showing my entire stomach. On top of that the shirt and the shorts were inside out. I groaned and covered my face with my hands. With all the embarrassing things I'd done lately, Jasper must really think I was mental or something. _How the hell had I not noticed my shirt was caught? _I shook my head._ I really need to get my head out of the clouds and pay attention to what I'm doing from now on._


	5. Chapter 9 and 10

**New Life**

**Chapter Nine**

**(Willow's POV)**

After an hour and a half of getting ready I decided there was nothing I could do to make myself look like I was from the Cullen family. I'd straightened my hair and no matter how much hairspray I used or how many different styles I tried, pieces still stuck out and fell in front of my face. I finally gave up and pulled the barrette out and just let it fall into the usual style where it covered part of my face. Though I looked as shy as I felt at least it wasn't sticking out. First days of school were never good for me and I had a feeling this one wasn't going to be any better. When I'd gone down for breakfast I felt even worse than I had in my room. Edward and Bella looked like models compared to me. Edward looked up at me and smiled.

"You look good." He said reassuringly. I looked down at my simple but stylish t-shirt, jeans and scuffed black and white converse. So it didn't look like I had just come off the streets but Bella made a simple brown t-shirt look amazingly elegant. Edward did the same to his black t-shirt. Bella turned around from the stove and smiled.

"Hey I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever make an appearance." She said before turning back around to flip a pancake on a plate.

"Sorry, I was trying to fix my hair." I said sitting down across from Edward. Bella came over and set the plate in front of me.

"Well hurry up and eat. You got five minutes before we got to go." She said. I did as she said and tried to force in a few bites around the knot in my stomach. I finished around half of it but couldn't finish and I pushed it aside when Jasper came in wearing a black hoodie over a white t-shirt. As soon as he entered butterflies joined the pancakes in my stomach.

"Ready to go?" Edward asked and I looked at him and gritted my teeth at the humor in his eyes. I nodded and got up.

"It's not that big of a school. And the kids there are nice." Bella spoke from the front seat of Edwards silver Volvo. I nodded and stared down at my clenched fists in my lap. I was trying to keep my mind off the fact that Jasper was sitting right next to me, only a small space between us in the back seat. We pulled into the parking lot of the high school and I noticed that most teens in the parking lot stared as we drove by. One look around told me why. Edward's car was the newest and nicest there. When we walked into the school people looked at them the same way. Bella took me to the office to get my schedule and I was glad to find Edward and Bella were in my first class. Only a few kids were in the class when we got there and they all looked at me curiously when I entered.

"Good morning miss Cullen" The older man spoke crisply as he shuffled through papers on his desk.

"Good morning Mr. Kyle." Bella answered kindly. He looked up and glanced at me.

"You must be the new student." He said.

"Uh…. Yeah." I said stupidly. From the look on his face I didn't think he liked it.

"You may take a seat next to Mr. and Miss Cullen if you wish." Then he went back to his papers. I let out a small sigh of relief. Some teachers in my past had made me stand up front and introduce myself. It didn't look like Mr. Kyle was going to do that. Bella led the way over to Edward and took a seat at the desk on my right so that Edward was on my left.

"Let me see your schedule." He said, ignoring the way a couple of blonde girls on his other side whispered loudly and shot him adoring looks. I handed over my slip of paper to him and he looked at it for a second and smiled.

"You have math with me, history with Bella and I, and science with Jasper after lunch." He said. A bit of the nervousness went away and I smiled at him.

"Quiet down." Mr. Kyle said as the last few students darted into the classroom and took their seats. "We have a new student here today. Her name is Willow Cullen." I looked at Edward. Nobody told me they had changed my name to Cullen.

"You changed my name?" I whispered low enough to where he was the only one who heard. He smiled a little and nodded. It made sense I guess.

"Listen up." I looked back at Mr. Kyle and he was staring at me with a piercing gaze. "I'd like to go over a couple of things so she understands." My stomach dropped as he walked around his desk and leaned against it before he spoke again.

"I do not tolerate sarcasm or talking in my class and I want your full attention on my lessons. I will not hesitate to send you out." He said I felt my cheeks redden as my mouth slipped open a little. This was worse than standing up in front of the class and being made to introduce myself. The entire class was staring at me. I wished I could disappear and never return. After that the lesson began and I was thankful the attention was off of me. I had a feeling the day wasn't going to get any better.

…..

I didn't think I could get out of the classroom fast enough. People were still laughing a little and stealing glances at me as I rushed past, cheeks flaming and wishing I could die. The one class I had by myself and I screw up. I hurried to the cafeteria where I was supposed to meet Bella and the others and felt relief when I saw them sitting at a table in the corner with trays of untouched food. Bella saw me and waved me over but I was already heading towards them, not even bothering to get in line for food as I passed.

"Hey, nice going." Some guy laughed from the class I'd just come from. My face burned even more and I hurried to the table. I plopped down next to Bella and she looked at me with concern.

"Wh-?"

"I want to go home." I interrupted her and she blinked at me.

"What happened? What's wrong?" She demanded an answer and my face burned even more so I buried my face in my hands with a groan.

"Wow." Edward spoke and I winced. He'd just seen the scene that played through my mind. I looked at him with a glare.

"Don't say anything and turn off your mind thing." I hissed. He rolled his eyes.

"I can't turn it off. It's just there." He said with a shrug. I glared at him and Bella snapped her fingers in front of my face to get my attention.

"What happened?" She asked again. I groaned again and slumped in my chair.

"Mrs. Blakely asked me a question in her class." I muttered. Bella blinked at me then rolled her eyes.

"Well that's not something to want to go home for." She said and picked at her food.

"I didn't know and I told her." I said. She frowned at me and Edward laughed.

"So…" She said.

"She asked the question and I said 'I don't know sir'." I spat out quickly and winced at my own words. Bella stared at me for a second.

"You called Mrs. Blakely 'sir'?" She asked.

"Yes." I moaned and Edward laughed. "She has a mustache! I mistook her for a guy." I defended myself.

"Well… what did she do?" Bella asked.

"She just stared at me for a second then said 'it's Mrs." Then pointed the question at someone else." I said before laying my head down on my crossed arms on the table.

"You're not the first." Jasper spoke for the first time and I glanced at him across from me.

"Really?" I asked a little hopeful.

"Yeah, it's happened a couple of times." He said with a shrug. I thought of this a little and felt a little better. At least my face stopped burning.

"You didn't get anything to eat." Bella scolded.

"At the moment I don't feel like eating." I answered.

"You need to eat something." She insisted and when I sat up she pushed her untouched tray in front of me. I stare down at the pile of strange looking noodles and red sauce with bits of grey stuff in it.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It's supposed to be spaghetti. It could be cat." Edward answered as he stabbed at his with a plastic fork. I made a face and Bella slapped his arm.

"At least eat the salad." She said. I gladly ate the wilted lettuce and after pushing the spaghetti away. I listened to Edward and Jasper talk about getting Emmett back for some trick he played on them and talked to Bella about finishing the painting in my room when we got home. We'd spent all day the day before painting the room. Though most of it ended up on our clothing, we had a blast. Soon the bell rang and they all stood up. I grabbed my tray to follow the others to throw the leftover food away when my foot caught on the leg of my chair and I fell flat, chest right in the spaghetti. I lay there for the second wide eyed and horrified at what had just happened. A few people laughed but most of the people weren't paying any attention to me. I felt hands on my elbows and Edward and Bella pulled me to my feet. I looked down and groaned when I saw the huge stain on my chest.

"Can this day get any worse?" I moaned as Bella tried her best to make a miracle happen with napkins. It didn't work. Edward picked up the tray and stacked it on the table.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"Nothing physically." I muttered.

"Here, take this." I felt something brush my elbow and I looked behind me to find Jasper holding out his hoodie to me. I stared at it for a second before reaching out slowly to take it.

"Thank you." I said barely over a whisper and he smiled a small half smile. I quickly slipped it on as the butterflies reappeared in my stomach. The bell rang again and Bella turned me to face her.

"Will you be ok with Jasper taking you to your next class since you're in it together?" She asked. I couldn't help rolling my eyes.

"Of course I'll be fine." I sighed. She nodded and she and Edward split off to their next class. Seeing as how I had no idea where my next was I turned to Jasper and h motioned for me to follow him. It was an unusually long and quiet walk to the science class. We were a couple of the first people there and the teacher smiled at us when we walked in.

"Hi, you must be the new student. Miss Cullen, correct?" He asked.

"Yes sir." I said smiling kindly back.

"Well, all the students have been assigned partners for the year." He said picking up a folder and looking through it. "But, as luck would have it, one of the students moved away last week so, I'll move miss Matthews to Miss Grimes and you may take a seat next to Mr. Hale." He said that and my heart leaped. I nodded and turned to find Jasper had already taken a seat at the table in the back and gave me a small smile. I gave a shaky one back as I made my way around the tables to him. My hands were shaking as I put my books on the table. I would really like to know why these lab tables and chairs are ridiculously high by the way. I finally seated myself on the chair and clenched my fists in my lap.

"You have no idea how glad I am you are my partner for the year." I wasn't exactly sure I'd heard him correctly so I looked at him. He was sitting with his arms crossed on the table and looking at me with a slight grin.

"I-I'm sorry what?" I sputtered.

"I said I'm glad you're my partner." He said again. Then he looked passed me and his jaw hardened.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He wasn't able to finish when a voice cleared beside me. A tall, blonde haired blue eyed girl stood with one hand on her hip. She wasn't Cullen beautiful but was definitely every teenaged guys dream girlfriend.

"Excuse me, you're in my seat." She spoke in a fake sickly sweet voice. I opened my mouth to speak but Jasper cut me off.

"No Haley we've been assigned new partners, your Olivia's new partner." He said, and I heard the hint of joy in his tone. Haley's smile faded into disbelief.

"Mr. Stewart never said anything about it to me." She spat out.

"Well then maybe you should go ask him." Jasper insisted. She glared at me before stomping to the front of the class. I couldn't hear what Mr. Stewart was saying but it didn't make Haley any happier as she stomped to the front desk and slammed her books down on the table and throwing me a watery glare. I swallowed hard and looked away.

"What is it with me pissing off people I didn't do anything to?" I whispered. Jasper chuckled and nudged my shoulder.

"It's not your fault. Haley's been throwing herself at me ever since we first moved here." He said. "Even though I've told her no practically every week, she just doesn't get the message." The rest of the class I could see Haley throwing glares over her shoulder at me. I kept looking at the clock on the wall. I sighed in relief when the bell rang. Day was almost over.

"So was the day as bad as you expected it to be?" Jasper asked while I gathered my things.

"It was a little worse." I answered shrugging.

"Well first days are never that good." He gave me a wink and I smiled. He grabbed my bag from the floor and led the way out of the classroom. Right passed Haley collecting her things. I looked down at the floor but could still feel her glares. Outside we were met by Edward and Bella. Both of whom did not look happy.

"What's going on?" I asked and Bella motioned for us to follow. A knot formed in my stomach. Something was wrong. One we were away from most of the crowd she turned around.

"Riley's in town. Rosalie spotted him about ten miles outside of town." Edward spoke low enough so only we could hear. My stomach dropped and my hands started shaking.

"Wh-what are…?" My throat tightened too much to talk.

"We're taking you away from here." Edward answered.

"Where?" Jasper hissed.

"The Denali's are in Europe and they gave us permission to stay there." Bella answered and took my arm and started dragging me towards the exit.

"Jasper will take you home. Pack as many clothes as you can. When we get there we are leaving." Edward said. All I could do was nod. The parking lot was empty so after giving me a tight hug and telling me everything was going to be ok, Bella and Edward were gone.

"Where did they go?" I asked when Jasper got in the driver's seat and locked the doors.

"They went to see if he's been around town anywhere." He said as he sped out of the parking lot. My heart was pounding hard and my hands wouldn't stop shaking. It wasn't long before we were speeding up the driveway and skidding to a stop in front of the house. Before I could so much as blink Jasper was opening my door and dragging me up the front steps.

"Go pack." He ordered. I didn't hesitate to run up the stairs. When I reached my room I stopped. Rosalie was busy stuffing t-shirts and jeans into my duffel bag. When I came in she threw a small bag at me. I caught it and gaped at her.

"Go pack your toiletries. We have to get you out of here as soon as possible." She ordered. I blinked but did as she said. After grabbing everything I needed I went back out and put the bag onto of my stack of clothing. Rosalie quickly zipped it up and slung it over her shoulder and motioned for me to follow her. We went back downstairs where Jasper was standing next to a black duffel bag and talking with Emmett.

"Where are you going?" Rosalie asked pointing to the bag.

"I'm going with her." Jasper said. "Are you sure it was him you saw?"

"Yeah, and he had seven newborns with him." She said. My stomach twisted again right as Esme, Carlisle, Bella, and Edward came through the front door.

"What's the plan?" Emmett asked.

"The plan is for Bella and Edward to take Willow to the Denali's place. They are going to stay there until things are safe." Carlisle answered.

"I'm going with them." Jasper said. Carlisle looked at him for a second before slowly nodding.

"I packed a bag for you and Bella; I put them in Emmett's jeep. We'll drive you to the airport." Rosalie said. No one said anything else as we headed to the garage. I felt like I was going to be sick. Esme gave me a tight hug before Bell ushered me into the huge jeep where I sat between Edward and Bella. Bella put her arm around me and I dropped my head to her shoulder. I knew this morning that this wasn't going to be a good day, but this was ridiculous.

**Chapter Ten**

**(Willow's POV)**

I hadn't dressed properly. I found that out when I stepped out of the airport into the freezing air of Alaska.

"Hole crap." I gasped when the doors opened and a blast of air and snow swirled around me.

"Oh, sorry I forgot all about it being freezing cold for humans." Bella said slapping her forehead. I just looked at her and wrapped my arms around myself in a weak attempt at keeping warm. I was still wearing Jaspers black hoodie but it did little against the cold wind.

"Rosalie surely packed something more fitting." Bella muttered, grabbing my hand and pulling back into the warmth of the airport and towards a bathroom. The she put my duffel bag on the counter and dug around until she pulled out two long sleeved shirts and thick jacket.

"These will have to do until I can find you something at the local stores." She said. I took them and changed in a stall. Took us a couple of hours to get a rental car then we were on the road, driving through heavy snow and twisting and turning through the forest roads. They'd turned the heat of high for me and it was pretty cozy on the back leather seats. It had been twenty-four hours since I last slept and I remember leaning against Bella. Then I fell asleep.

…

**(Bella's POV)**

We pulled up in front of Denali's place and I carefully got out so as not to wake Willow. Edward came around to my side and took her easily in his arms. I stepped back and looked up at the house. I smiled a little. We vampires liked to live in style. The Denali's place wasn't much bigger than ours but looked like it came out of a magazine. It sat in a valley and they had acres and acres of land, all of it covered in snow now but it looked like a fairy tale like place with the ice hanging off the trees and sparkling in the last rays of sunlight. The house was a log cabin style house with two floors, one of which was underground. The top floor had three bedrooms, two of which had their own bathrooms, a spacey living room, kitchen, and a small but stocked library. The basement floor had four guest rooms, each with their own private bath. I planned on stationing Willow down there because there was only one way in and out of the basement.

"I want her to stay in one of the bedrooms downstairs." I whispered so I wouldn't wake her and Edward nodded. I unlocked the door with the spare key and led the way into the dark living room. I didn't bother turning on the lights since we didn't really need them to see anyway. I led the way down the hallway to the basement stairs. I quickly picked the bedroom between two other bedrooms and turned the covers down on the huge canopy bed. Edward sat her down gently and she moaned in her sleep and rolled over. I smiled and pushed her hair out of her face and sighed.

"She's going to be ok Bella." Edward whispered softly, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the door. I sighed again and nodded. Out in the living room we found Jasper building a fire in the gigantic fireplace. He looked back at us when we entered and I raised an eyebrow. He shrugged.

"I thought it might help bring in more warmth to the place." He said and turned back to strike a match. I looked at Edward with a raised brow and he avoided my gaze. I cleared my throat and went to sit on the sofa as Jasper stood up and stared into the fire.

"I'd like to know something Jasper." I started and I noticed his shoulders tense. "Why did you come with us?" He hesitated a few moments before her turned around and stared at me with his jaw clenched.

"I figured the more protection she had the better. I'm one of the best fighters we have and if we run into problems a good fighter is what you would need to defeat Riley." He stated, lifting his chin before turning back to the fire. I glanced at Edward and he sat staring up at the ceiling, a small smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. Something told me that wasn't entirely true.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" I asked leaning back against Edward.

"I'd think a couple of weeks. Or until Carlisle and the others give us the all clear." He said playing with my hair. I sighed and nodded.

"I wish there was some way we could just end all this." I whispered. Edward pulled me tight into his arms and kissed the top of my head.

"It will be over soon." He whispered back. I hoped he was right. After a while Jasper sighed and said he was going to check out their library, leaving Edward and I alone. He pulled me closer to him and I stared into the fire. Though I knew Willow needed sleep, I kind of wished she were awake to give me something to do. I really needed to get her a coat more suitable clothing for the weather. And then I remembered that the Denali's most likely didn't have any human food.

"We need to go grocery shopping." I said.

"You wanna go now or wait till morning?" Edward asked stroking his fingers through my hair. That simple gesture was slowly melting the tension from between my shoulder blades.

"I wouldn't mind staying like this for a while." I shrugged, snuggling deeper into his embrace.

**(Willow's POV)**

I was running bare foot through the snow. Fear was causing my heart to beat erratically and sweat dampened my forehead despite the cold snow that swirled around me. The wind was starting to pick up and before long I couldn't see three feet in front of me. That didn't stop me from running though. I just picked a direction and kept running. Out of a nowhere a figure popped out in front of me and I slammed right into it, causing me to fall back on the cold snow. A flash of blood red eyes and dripping fangs inches from my face made me start crawling backwards. Out of now where the ground collapsed and I was falling, screaming and struggling against the snow that was wrapping around me like a sheet. I kept screaming and struggling but it wouldn't release me. There was a ripping noise and the snow released me. I blinked at the sudden brightness. The snow was gone and I was in bedroom on the floor.

"Will stop screaming your ok." A soothing voice behind me spoke. I clamped my mouth closed as reality rushed over me. It had all been a dream. I wasn't lost in a blizzard being chased by a vampire. I was on the floor in a bedroom. I turned around to find Jasper kneeling in front of me holding the ripped tangled sheet beside a bed. That's when I realized I'd fallen off the bed. Relief that it had all been a dream crashed down on me and tears streamed down my cheeks as sobs racked my chest. Without a word Jasper dropped the sheet and pulled me into his arms. I clung to him and couldn't but think I was getting his shirt soaked with my tears. He didn't seem to mind though as he rubbed my back and spoke soothingly in my ear. After a few moments my sobs died away and a strange calmness started rushing through my body, relaxing my muscles. I sniffed and hiccupped but wouldn't relax my grip on his shirt. He didn't push me back and it was long after I quit sniffling that I finally pulled away, cheeks flaming with embarrassment that I'd acted like that around him. I kept my eyes closed, not really wanting to see the disgusted look on his face when I opened them. Cold fingers brushed the last tear drops from under my eyes and I couldn't but look. He wasn't looking at me disgustedly. He had a slight smile and his eyes held something I couldn't place at the moment. My heart beat sped up again but this time it wasn't from fear.

"Are you ok?" He asked. His smooth southern accent was gentle and kind. I sniffed shakily and nodded.

"Bad dream." I muttered hoarsely. He chuckled lightly.

"I figured." He said. I blushed again and looked away from his face. I focused my attention on the room I was in. It was about as big as my room at the Cullen's. The walls were a mocha brown color and there was a sofa and a flat screen TV hanging on the wall. A cream colored sofa sat in front of it. The bed was bigger than the one at home. I cleared my throat and looked back at Jasper. He was still watching me.

"H-how long have we been here?" I asked.

"Since eight last night." He said.

"What time is it?"

"One in the morning. Edward and Bella went to get you some food." He said as he stood up. He reached his hand down for me and helped me to my feet. After all the crying and struggling in my sleep I was still exhausted. But when I looked at the big bed I didn't really feel like getting in it. For some reason the sofa looked a hell of a lot more comforting. Neither of us said anything for a few moments and I felt like I need to say something. So I opened my mouth to speak but it came out all crackly and gross sounding.

"I'll go get you some water." Jasper said. I nodded and cleared my throat. When he left I noticed my bag by the door. The thought of my fleece pajamas dragged me towards it. I changed quickly and grabbed the brown comforter and pillow before heading to the sofa. A light knock sounded on my door before it opened. Jasper came back in with the glass of water but stopped when he saw me fixing up the sofa. I didn't say anything and he didn't ask as he crossed the room and handed me the water. I took it and sat on the sofa, pulling my legs up to my chest before taking a sip.

"Are you ok now?" He asked.

"Yes. Thank you for the water." I said.

"Your welcome." He said with one of his half smiles that never failed to send my heart racing. After a second of silence he cleared his throat.

"I better go, Bella will me if you don't get more rest." He said. I smiled at that and he left. I lie back on the sofa and set my glass on the floor. I tried to block the images of my dream out but they kept coming back. I buried my head in the pillow and did math problems in my head until I finally fell back asleep.

…

When I woke up the next morning my body was stiff from sleeping on the sofa but I didn't feel like getting up. I stared at the black screen of the TV and wondered if I could magically turn it on with my mind if I stared at it long enough. The scent of bacon drifted passed me and my stomach grumbled. I knew the beast in my stomach wouldn't let me lay there any longer. Neither would my bladder unfortunately. After doing the necessary things I brushed out my hair and pulled it up into a messy bun. After the tossing and turning all night I didn't have the energy to shower or dress at the moment. I figured a cup of hot coffee might change that. I stepped out of the bedroom into a dark hallway. At the other end there was a brightly lit doorway and I quickly headed towards it. I found a large living room area and Edward lounging on the brown leather sofa with his feet on the coffee table and a book in his hands. He closed it and looked at me with a smile.

"Good morning." He said brightly.

"Morning." I muttered as a yawn snuck up on me.

"You should have slept longer." He said with a frown. I shrugged and went over to sink down on the sofa next to him. I winced when I stretched a sore muscle and his frown deepened.

"You hurt?" He asked with concern in his voice.

"No just sore." I said rubbing my shoulder and tried not to think of my night on the sofa but failed.

"Why did you sleep on the sofa?" Disapproval colored his tone.

"I had a nightmare and the bed just seemed a little… roomy." I muttered an explanation and felt my cheeks heating up.

"I think you're the only human that would complain about a bed being too roomy." He said shaking his head with an arched eyebrow in disbelief. I opened my mouth to return a smart remark but was interrupted.

"Hey! I was just about to go wake you and see if you wanted breakfast." I turned in my seat to see Bella descending a stairway with a tray in her hands. She walked around the sofa and put the tray on the table.

"Did you sleep ok?" She asked sitting down on the other side of me.

"Yeah." I lied and smiled and Edward narrowed his eyes at me.

"If I tell her I didn't sleep good you know she will worry and go way out of her way to make sure I sleep good from now until we return to your home. So keep your mouth shut." I was glad for once that he could read minds as I directed this thought towards him. He sighed and gave a slight nod before turning back to his book.

"Good." Bella spoke and my stomach rumbled. She uncovered the tray and the scent of bacon grew stronger and my stomach growled embarrassingly louder. She smirked and pushed the towards me before leaning back against the sofa and picking up the remote for the flat screen TV hanging on the wall in front of us. I quickly took a drink of the steaming mug of coffee before digging into the bacon and scrambled eggs. It wasn't I'd finished eating that I noticed Bella and Edward were sitting straight up and staring at the TV. Neither of them blinking. I frowned and turned my attention on the TV to see they were watching a news channel. I couldn't hear what it was about but it was showing photos of six people. A picture of a young girl around my age came up for a second. The next one that followed made my breath catch in my throat. There on the screen was the guy that had drug me out of the window that night at the Cullen's. I inhaled sharply and that seemed to break Edward and Bella out of their trances. Edward took the remote from me and switched the TV off. Nobody said anything. My heart was racing and I was sure all the color had drained from my face. It took me a second to calm myself down. I was ok. They had killed him. He wasn't coming after me. I shook my head and stood up.

"Are you ok?" Edward asked and I nodded.

"I-I'm going to go get dressed." I said and hurried out of the room. My heart was still racing even though I kept repeating that he was dead over and over in my head.

**(Bella's POV)**

"He's building an army Edward." I hissed as soon as I heard Willows door close. "He's doing exactly what Victoria did."

"I know." Edward spoke and I noticed his jaw had gone just as tense as I felt.

"Edward what if what we are doing isn't enough? If he somehow finds out we fled to Alaska what if he follows? Yes we might be strong but we are nothing against an army of newborns." I was sure I sounded hysterical but I didn't care. I needed to keep my sister safe and I was afraid I was going to fail. Edward stared at the black TV screen and I wished I could read his thoughts. He was silent for a few minutes before he finally looked at me.

"Bella, I don't know if we will need the extra protection or not but I may have an idea." He spoke slowly as if he was still thinking it over in his mind. I leaned closer to him eager to hear the idea. Once he told me I was a little shocked he had thought of it. But it did make since. After all, they had helped the first time around with Victoria, maybe they would this time around.

"We'll tell Jasper the plan and then contact Carlisle and ask him what he thinks. If they like it, I'll make the call. Jacob might listen if it's me asking." I said standing up. Edward nodded and we both went to find Jasper.


	6. Chapter 11 and 12

**New LIfe**

**Chapter Eleven**

**(Willow's POV)**

I swear if I wasn't killed by vampires I would die of boredom. The three days we'd been in Alaska the most I'd seen was what I could see out off the kitchen window. And that was before Bella made me go back downstairs. I understand that I'm in danger and vampires are trying to kill me, but is that any reason to put me under house arrest? Ok maybe it is but still! I could at least be able to walk around the outside in the snow for crying out loud. Whenever it snowed at home it was usually just a bunch of slush or ice by the time I'd get out there. From what I'd seen out the window this was actual snow ball fight, snow man sturdy snow! And I was stuck in basement watching movies and getting my ass kicked at checkers. I huffed and lay back on the floor as Edward beat me again.

"You need a strategy." He chuckled.

"Its checkers, what strategies can you have with checkers?" I looked at him and he just shook his head and put the board up.

"I'm so bored!" I moaned for the fifth time.

"It could be worse." Bella spoke as she came down the stairs.

"Yeah. You could deny me shower and bathroom rights huh?" I said sarcastically.

"With an attitude like that I just might." She shot back. I groaned and slammed my forearm across my eyes.

"Couldn't I go outside with you guys?" I tried again.

"No." Bella said. "I came to tell you that Edward and I need to go hunting. We won't be far and Jasper is upstairs if you need anything." I lifted my arm away and glared at her as she and Edward headed towards the stairs.

"So you guys can go kill helpless animals but I can't go play in the snow?" I snapped.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll kill something dangerous." She through over her shoulder and then they were gone. I groaned and through my arm over my shoulder. I was lonely now. Yeah Jasper was upstairs but he had been acting funny ever since the night he had come in my room when I was having the nightmare. He was even quieter when I was around and if it was just the two of us left in a room together he would leave. He acted as if I wasn't even there. And it really pissed me off. I sighed and sat up, looking around the room for something to do. My gaze kept landing on the stairs. Then it hit me. Bella and Edward were gone. There wouldn't be any harm in me just stepping out on the patio right? Of course not. I jumped up and ran to my room to pull jeans over my pajama shorts. I pulled on a long sleeved shirt and grabbed a jacket before putting on the thick boots Bella had gotten me. Though, I don't really know why if she wasn't going to let me outside anyway. I trudged up the stairs and down the hallway to the kitchen. I smiled when I saw thick flakes falling past the window outside. I pulled the sliding door open and stepped out onto the patio. A shiver ran through my body from the cold breeze that met me. I shut the door behind me and wrapped my arms around myself. Cold snow landed on my nose and I reach up to wipe it away with another shiver. I started going down the stairs when I heard the sliding doors open behind me.

"You know she's just trying to protect you." I turned around and looked at Jasper. I was little startled to see he was wearing a thin short sleeved shirt and he was barefoot.

"Do you not feel how cold it is?" I asked. He frowned puzzled and I pointed at his feet. He glanced down and shrugged.

"It doesn't bother me." He said stepping out further onto the patio and shutting the door.

"You're not going to drag me inside and lock me in the basement?" I know I sounded rude but I was curious as to why he wasn't dragging me back inside like Bella would have been. Again he shrugged and sat down one of the patio chairs.

"No." He said.

"Why?"

"I don't see any problem with you being outside as long as you stay close and someone is with you." He answered. I nodded slowly in agreement and smiled my thanks before descending down the short steps off the patio. I wasn't expecting the snow to be thigh deep and I lost my balance. To my great embarrassment I fell face down in the snow with a yelp of surprise. I wasn't down for long though as a pair of arms reached around me and hoisted me back to my feet. I wiped the snow my face, though most of it was melting as my face burned, and looked up at Jaspers half smile.

"You ok?" He asked. I didn't miss the amusement in his tone.

"Uh-huh." I managed when words failed me. Once again we were really close. His face was only inches from me and his hypnotic golden eyes were staring into mine. A tingly sensation started where his hands were touching my body and spread out through my whole body. The only thing I could hear was my unsteady breathing and my heart pounding in my ears. If this had been a romantic movie we probably would have been kissing. But it all ended. Something crossed his expression that I couldn't read. A split second later he let go of me and was gone all at once. My heart was still pounding and I suddenly realized that I was wet from the snow and my legs were freezing. My teeth chattered and I pulled myself back up on the patio shakily. I'd suddenly lost all interest in exploring the snow. I hurried in through the kitchen and back down stairs. I had no idea where Jasper had gone but I didn't want to meet up with him again. I was embarrassed about what had happened and I felt something else. For some reason I felt rejected. But it was stupid I know. I shook my head and hurried into my room, locking the door behind me. I stripped out of my wet clothes and changed into a pair of long pajama pants and t-shirt. I was still cold so I grabbed a hoodie to pull on then went out to the living room. I looked through the rather large collection of DVD's. Though I was a romantic movie kind of person I skipped over those and looked for horror movies. I picked out too and turned the lights off before settling on the couch with a blanket and a pillow. I knew I'd regret it later on but I didn't care at the moment.

….

Somehow amidst the blood and gore of My Bloody Valentine I fell asleep. When I woke up the movie had ended and it was back to the main menu. I moaned and sat up. My stomach rumbled so I got up. I guessed Bella wouldn't disapprove of me going up and getting me something to eat. The hallway upstairs was dark. I didn't bother turning the light in the hallway on though. In the kitchen the clock on the stove read 8:33. I turned the light on and opened the refrigerator to get things for a sandwich, easy to make and an easy clean up. I grabbed a can of soda to go with it and started making my food. I tried not to think of Jasper. The way he'd been looking at me earlier… chills went through my spine and it wasn't the creepy kind like when you think someone's watching you. I took a drink of my soda and started put things up when something moved out of the corner of my eye. My heart flipped, thinking it might be Jasper, and I turned to say something. I don't know what I was going to say but whatever it was I forgot immediately. It wasn't Jasper standing in the doorway. A huge man stood in the doorway. He looked like a wrestler champ or something. And he was shirtless. Everything dropped from my arms and the sound of the mayonnaise jar cracking at my feet pulled me out of my frozen state. So I did what every girl would do in my situation. I screamed as loud as I could and grabbed the closest thing at hand to throw at him, which happened to be my soda can. It hit his chest with a dull thud and the only movement he made was a slight arch of his eyebrow. Three things happened at once. I lunged for the knife I'd used for my sandwich, another guy popped out of nowhere behind the first and Jasper burst through the patio door. And when I say he burst through the door I mean he actually burst through the door. Glass and splintered wood littered the floor. He looked at me, eyes wide with panic and then he looked at what I was brandishing the butter knife at.

"J-J-Jas-"

"What the hell is going on?" Bella appeared behind Jasper and took in the scene in front of her. Edward joined her, looking calm and a little amused. Neither of them seemed to notice two half naked men standing in front of me. Instead they were all looking at me.

"It's my fault Bella. I didn't mean to frighten her." One of the near naked men spoke and I snapped my attention back to them. Before I knew what was happening Bella rushed forward, not to kill the intruders, but to wrap her arms around him and laugh.

"Jake! It's so good to see you." She said as the guy hugged her back. The guy behind them cleared his throat and Bella let go of the first guy to hug the second.

"Seth! How's Leah?" She asked pulling back to look at him.

"She's good, pregnant again." He laughed. I swear I thought I was still sleeping and having a bizarre dream. I glanced at Jasper and Edward's smirk widened as he stepped forward.

"Bella, you may want to explain this to Will." He said. Bella glanced at me like she just realized I was there. Then she smiled.

"Willow this is Jacob and Seth, old friends of ours." She motioned to the two of them and they smiled kindly at me.

"I called them as back up." She added.

"Oh." Was all I managed. Then it hit. "Oh…are they…. vampires… too?" My voice sounded weak. Even though I'd been around vampires for a while now I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that there were real live, or living dead, vampires roaming around the world and no one knowing about them. When I asked that, the one behind Jacob, Seth, scoffed.

"Oh, hell no." He chuckled. Bella gave him a look and his smile faded.

"You didn't tell her?" Jacob asked raising an eyebrow.

"Not yet." Bella had a tone to her voice that sounded threatening. Jacob narrowed his eyes and Edward stepped forward.

"I'll show you where you and Seth can stay." He said. Jacob hesitated before nodding and the three of them left.

"Tell me what?" I asked looking at Bella. She avoided my gaze and opened the refrigerator.

"You hungry?" She asked.

"Bella tell me what?" It wasn't helping my nerves that she wasn't answering me.

"I'm going to find something to fix the door." I'd forgotten Jasper was there until he spoke. When I looked at him though, he avoided my gaze and exited through the hole where the door had been. She waited until he was gone then she turned to me.

"Don't… freak out ok." She said. I swallowed hard and tried not to freak out but the way she was acting was really freaking me out.

"W-what is going on?" I asked again weakly.

"Jacob and Seth… they're… werewolves." She spat the last word out. For a minute I just stared at her. The word bounced around in my head and it was hard to get a hold of it. When I finally did I could feel the color draining from my face and my stomach dropped.

"L-like….full moon crazed…. Getting bit can turn you into a wolf kind of werewolf?" I asked.

"No that's all a myth. They can turn into a wolf whenever they want." She said waving her hand in the air.

"Oh, that makes me feel better." I tried to sound sarcastic but it came out a little breathy and weak.

"I'm sorry I should have warned you. I didn't think about it." She said putting a hand on my arm.

"It's ok. I'll get used to it. I mean they can't be any dangerous than you guys right?" I was trying to convince myself but it wasn't helping much at all. If I'd been told months ago that vampires and werewolves were real I probably would have laughed and thought they were crazy. Now I was starting to believe I was crazy.

"You hungry?" Bella asked again. I swallowed hard and shook my head.

"No… I suddenly lost my appetite." I muttered.

"You have to eat something." She said with disapproval. I grabbed an apple from the bowl of fruit on the island and waved it in the air, though I doubted I'd be able to eat it.

"I think I'm going… to bed." I said.

"Will," Bella stopped me before I turned the corner. "I'm sorry I didn't warn you. Please don't be scared."

"I'm not scared." I didn't sound convincing but she didn't stop me when I started to leave again. When I got to my room I tried to sleep but after an hour of tossing and turning and trying not to freak out that there were werewolves upstairs I gave up and went into the living room. I curled up on the sofa and it was like everything hit me at once. I started crying and I wasn't exactly sure why I was crying. I think it was because I hadn't been getting sleep lately. That and the fact that I was being hidden from a vampire that was out to kill me to get back at Bella. It wasn't until my sobs had turned to wet hiccups that I noticed something was touching my back. I gasped and sat up to see what it was and found Jasper sitting beside me. I burst into fresh tears and without a word he pulled me against him, stroking my back and I could feel a strange since of calm going through my body. Even after my sobs subsided and I was sniffling he was still sending the calming waves at me. He still held me against him and I made no move to push him away. He stayed with me and after a while I started to fall asleep.

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I sat up with a start, sweating from my dream, heart pounding hard in my chest. That had been a very vivid dream. My cheeks flushed and I was thankful Jasper had left sometime while I was sleeping. I'd been told by my parents several times they could hear me talking in my sleep. If I had talked or done anything in my sleep during that kind of dream while Jasper had been there… my cheeks flamed even hotter at the thought of it. I buried my face in my hands and moaned. I couldn't let myself dream like that again. Thought it was a very nice dream. A scene played over in my head from my dream and I was startled when a voice cleared from behind me. I spun in my seat to find Edward at the bottom of the stairs. A mixture of humor and horror on his face told me he had seen what I'd dreamed.

"When you're done here, Bella wants you to come up and eat something." He said a little uncomfortably. I cleared my throat and nodded. He left and my cheeks burned even more knowing he knew I'd had a sex dream about Jasper. Could my life get any worse?

**Chapter Twelve**

**(Willow's POV)**

A week and a half had passed since I'd had that dream and I really wished a wooden stake could kill vampires because I'd be ramming a few in Edward's chest. Every time Jasper came around me my face would flush and Edward would nudge me. I'd be surprised if my face ever returned to its natural color instead of red. So I came up with the conclusion to avoid Jasper at all cost. I liked Seth and Jacob, and not only because I was no longer the only one that ate around here but they were kind of funny. Seth was very energetic and it really annoyed Jacob. Seth acted like a kid instead of his age. He was seventeen years older than me and he acted like he was fifteen. I'd witness him arguing with Jacob over who would win in a wrestling match, the Hulk or Thor. I'd watched amused while Seth stood up, red faced, and slammed his fist down on the table, which creaked under my hands, and yelled that the Hulk would totally win because he's awesome. I don't know if this is what he's really like or if it was just because we'd been cooped up for a week and a half. At least he got to go outside and run around. Never mind the fact that when he did he grew a tail and barked but still. I had more to complain about.

"Since we got double the security may I roam the house by myself now?" I asked one day after lunch.

"As long as you don't go outside I'm fine with it." She shrugged without turning away from the sink. I looked out the window at the swirling snow that had started that morning and was only getting stronger and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah because I was totally going to go out and get lost in that." I said sarcastically. Bella turned and gave me a slight glare.

"Do you want me to keep you downstairs again?" There was a warning to her tone but I scoffed at it.

"You wouldn't do that."

"Wanna bet?" Her smile was really freaky.

"No." I sighed and pushed my chair back from the table.

"There's a library if you're interested." Bella said before I rounded the corner. I hesitated for a second before shrugging. I did love reading and it was something different from watching TV and moping around.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"It's the second hallway third door on the left." She said. I followed her directions and was amazed. It was like a mini public library. The shelves reached all the way to ceiling with a ladder to get books you couldn't reach. There were two big leather chairs on either side of the fire place and the lamps on the walls sent a warm glow around the room. What amazed me was there was a floor to ceiling glass window that had a great view. If it weren't that there was a snow storm outside.

"Damn." I breathed out. I looked around and a big red book with gold writing on the spine caught my attention. Vampire Legends. I wondered why a family of vampires would have a book like that. But it really snagged my attention. It was on one of the really high shelves so I go the ladder. Right when I was on the top step and reaching for it, the door opened and bumped the ladder right out from under my feet. Before I knew what happened I was falling. Only I didn't fall the floor like I was expecting. I landed in a pair of outstretched arms. When I looked to see who it was, my heart sped up and I had trouble breathing when I was once again nose to nose with Jasper. For a second I was too dumbstruck to do anything. Only when his lips turned up into a slight smile did I snap out of it. He set me on my feet and I tried to take a few deep calming breaths.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

"It's ok." I laughed it off nervously and Jasper picked up the ladder and stood it back up.

"What book were you trying to get?" He asked stepping up on it. I hesitated, feeling my cheeks start to burn. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue.

"Vampire Legends." I muttered barely over a whisper. He heard though and smirked as he climbed up a little more and got the book down. He paused as he was coming down and grabbed a second book. He handed me my book and passed me to go to one of the leather chairs. I stood there staring at the cover for a few minutes. It looked a little old the pages were kind of yellowed.

"You can sit down you know." Jasper interrupted my thoughts and I looked to see him motion to the chair opposite him.

"I-I think I-I'll go to m-my room." I stuttered. He raised an eyebrow and I turned to go out the door. I was almost safe when he stopped me right as my hand touched to the doorknob.

"May I ask why you've been avoiding me all week?" He asked smoothly and my hands grew moist. I turned to look at him and cleared my throat nervously.

"I-I haven't b-been avoiding y-you." I cursed myself for stuttering. Yeah that sounded convincing. His eyebrow rose a little more and he smiled slightly.

"Prove it." He said simply.

"Excuse me." I sputtered. He motioned to the empty chair again and I swallowed hard before nodding once. The walk over seemed longer than it should have and his eyes followed me the whole way without blinking and that half smile still in place. When I sat down it turned smug and he opened his book. I sat down and opened mine with trembling fingers. I tried to read but I couldn't pay attention knowing Jasper was just a foot or two away from me. I flipped the page and found different sketches of what people thought vampires looked like. I glanced at the mangled face, red glowing eyes and dripping fangs and looked at Jasper. He didn't look ferocious or scary. He was handsome. An image of him kissing me like in my dream popped up in front of my eyes and I quickly pushed it away as my face flushed and I tried to settle my heart.

"Are you ok?" Jasper interrupted my thoughts again and I inhaled sharply.

"Uh-huh." I managed. Right then the library door opened and Edward entered.

"Sorry to interrupt but we need to have a meeting in the kitchen." He said. I gladly stood up and Jasper followed. When I passed Edward he winked at me and I glared at him. Jacob and Seth stood at the island and Bella was leaning against the sink. When I entered she smiled but I could tell there was something wrong.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Carlisle called." Bella started and her eyes darkened. Edward went to her side and put his arm around her shoulder.

"What did he say?" Jasper asked.

"They've been patrolling for about a week now and there hasn't been any sign of Riley or any of his army ever since we left." Edward answered. I was a little relieved at the news but I was also wondering what they were getting at.

"He wants us to come home. Or really, Esme is worried sick with her family being do far away and nothing happening she wants all of us home right away." He said.

"When do we leave?" Jasper asked behind me.

"The snow is beginning to slow so I figured we might try to catch a flight tomorrow." Edward answered. Then he looked at Jacob and Seth. "He wants you two to come home with us as extra precaution."

"Oh Blondie's going to love that." Seth laughed.

"Just sleep with your eyes open." Edward laughed.

"Need my help packing up?" Bella asked.

"No I got it." I said. Seeing as how there didn't seem to be anything else that needed to be said, I left. I cringed when I got to my room. After a week I'd given up on trying to keep it clean. Dirty and clean clothes were strewn all over the floor, the bed was unmade, and there were some plates and glasses. I sighed and started picking up clothes as I made my way to the bed. I found a clean pair of clothes and set those aside for the travel home tomorrow and then started making the bed. It didn't take long, mostly because I stuffed everything in the bag instead of taking time to fold. I have to say I was really excited about leaving. I'd always wanted to go to Alaska but the fact that I'd been stuck inside the whole time, I was ready to leave.

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Three hours we'd been stuck in the airport. Right when we got inside another storm had started. And I thought it was bad being stuck in the house. At least at the house there wasn't a screaming baby right behind me.

"How do can you stand this? You have better hearing than I do?" I whispered to Bella.

"You ignore it. Just listen to my iPod."She said.

"It died a half hour ago." I sighed leaning back against my seat.

"Well stop complaining." She hissed. I glared at her and Edward leaned across her and motioned me closer.

"You're almost as bad as the baby with all you're complaining." He whispered. I glared at him and he smiled. I leaned back in my seat with a sigh. I know I was complaining a lot. But I really didn't care anymore. All I wanted to do was curl up somewhere and sleep. I'd had another nightmare the night before. This time Jasper hadn't been there like the times before. Edward, Bella, and Jasper had gone hunting the night before so they wouldn't cause a massacre on the plane. Yeah they weren't too happy when I'd added that in the conversation. Actually it was Bella that had reacted badly. Edward threatened to start with me. So I just went ahead and got ready. By the time they got back I'd been showered and ready for three hours. I'd tried to take a nap several but the chairs were incredibly uncomfortable and that kid had started screaming every single time I'd made the attempt. I was sorry I had turned down Jacobs offer to get me a black coffee when he and Seth had gone to get them one. Now they were sitting across from me holding the steaming cups in their hands. Something landed in my lap and I looked down to see a ten dollar bill. I looked to see where it had come from.

"Go get you one. Get something to eat too." Sometimes I forget that Edward can hear my thoughts. I guess Bella was really tired of my whining because she didn't protest me going by myself. I winded through the crowd and found a couple of food places. Both were packed. I picked a place and stood in line for a while. For about ten minutes I stood there while the crowd behind me thickened. I was startled when an arm came around my waist and cold breath blew in my ear. Neither of those things are as frightening as what happened next.

"Go where I tell you, or I will kill your family." The voice hissed. My blood ran cold and I turned to see who it was. A tall man, who was just as big as Emmett, maybe more, stood behind me. Blood red eyes glared down at me. Vampire. I swallowed hard but my throat had gone dry.

"Two wolves and three vampires won't be enough to stop fifteen newborns." He said. My eyes widened and my stomach tightened. He grabbed my wrist hard and pulled me out of the line. I couldn't fight back. All the self defense stuff my father had made me memorize had gone completely out of my mind. I'm not even sure if they would work anyway. I followed behind him limply. He stopped at an employee only door and pushed me inside. Only when we were in that hallway did I snap out of it and open my mouth to scream. The vampire pressed his hands against my mouth so hard tears sprang to my eyes.

"Shut up." He hissed. I whimpered but he didn't remove his hand. Before I could attempt biting him, he jumped back with a yelp. At least I thought he jumped back. As my helpless legs gave out from under me and I slid down the wall, I noticed Jasper standing over me, fists clenched and facing the giant vampire getting to his feet. He didn't look scared, he smirked.

"You may want to rethink before you try and save the kid." He snarled. I swear I blinked and there were seven red eyed men standing around us. One of them pulled me roughly to my feet and held my hands behind my back. I whimpered in fear and Jasper looked over his shoulder at me. He locked eyes with me for a second. For that second the anger melted from his face and he looked… scared. Then the snarling predator was back and he snapped his attention back to the vampires surrounding us.

"Let her go." He hissed. The giant vampire let out a booming laugh that made me sick to my stomach.

"Sorry, but those aren't my orders." He said. Jasper growled, and I mean actually growled. Like a lion. It made me wince. "Now if you'll excuse me we have to go." He took a step towards me and Jasper stood in front of him.

"You're not taking her." He stated. The big rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Then that means we are taking you too." He said. In a split second three vampires had Jasper surrounded, waiting for him to pounce. He didn't he just glared at the big man. When Jasper didn't stand down he shrugged.

"Fine. But you do anything I don't like, the girl loses a finger." He warned. My stomach twisted again. The man behind me pushed me forward to follow the giant. He led us to a door that led outside and forced the door open. The freezing air knocked what breath I had right out of my lungs and I gasped. Jasper looked at me shivering and shifted out of his jacket. The vampire growled warning and he glared.

"Do you want her to freeze to death?" He hissed. They hesitated before they let him hand me the jacket. I took it thankfully and pulled it on over my long sleeve shirt. It did little to block out the wind but at least it was something.

"You stay in sight of us or she gets hurt. Understood?" The giant warned Jasper and he nodded. Without a word the man behind me lifted me roughly over his shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes and I cried out in pain. It didn't faze him and in a split second we were lost in the swirling snow. Tears froze on my cheeks and I wondered when my bad luck would run out.


	7. Chapter 13 and 14

**New Life**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**(Willow's POV)**

I fell face down a freezing cold floor. It had grown dark outside and it was even darker in the building they'd shoved me into. A flicker of light started and then grew to a warm glow. I blinked at the sudden light and found that I was in what looked like a storage building. The walls were cement as well as the floor. It had to be as cold as it was outside in here. Jasper knelt beside me.

"Are you ok?" He asked. I was shivering too hard to answer so I settled for nodding.

"Try anything funny Cullen, you will be sorry." The giant of a vampire was the one that lit the lantern and left it on the floor in the middle of the room. He walked around us and slammed the big mettle door behind him. I heard scraping and knew he must have locked it from the outside. Tears filled my eyes and I looked at Jasper. He was up and looking at a pile of stuff on the floor. I was a little surprised to see a sleeping bag, a pillow, and duffel bag. He picked up the sleeping bag and brought it over to me.

"I need to get you warm. Take your clothes off." He ordered. I just stared at him, shivering. He sighed and unzipped the sleeping bag.

"You need to get out of those wet clothes or else you're going to get sick and die." He explained. That made since. I stood up and he turned around. I left my underwear on and wrapped myself in the sleeping bag before I told him I was done. He took my wet clothes and spread them out on the floor so that they would dry. Not knowing what else to do I sat down in front of the lantern and held my shaking hands out, trying to warm them. I was scared I'd never get the feeling back in them but after few minutes they began to ache and tingle. A little part of me felt relieved. The rest was freaking out because I'd just been kidnapped and there was nothing Jasper could do. Said person was leaning against the wall, arms folded and glaring at the lantern. I guessed he was trying to think of a way to get out of this mess. At least that's what I was hoping he was doing.

"I'm s-sorry I w-went off a-alone." I blurted out. He looked at me puzzled.

"What?" He asked

"A-at the airp-port." I looked down.

"It's not your fault." He tried to assure me but I shook my head.

"I was being a whiny bitch." I mentally slapped myself. Never would I complain in a situation again.

"No you weren't. It's no one's fault that this happened." He knelt down in front of me and I looked up at him. For a few seconds neither of us said anything. His golden eyes bore into mine and I wished that were anywhere but here at the moment.

"You need to sleep." He said, breaking the silence and standing up.

"I-I w-won't b-be able t-to." I shivered. A second later a rush or weariness washed over my body and my eyelids became very heavy. Knowing he wouldn't stop until he got his way I curled up by the lantern and shut my eyes tight. Maybe when I woke up I'd be in my bed at the house and this was all a nightmare. With the help of Jasper I was asleep in minutes despite how cold I was.

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I was haunted by nightmares and all of them were the same thing. I was being chased by vampires. They'd killed everyone but me. I woke up in tears when the giant had me pinned to the snow. His dripping fangs got closer and closer to me and pierced my neck. Unlike the last time I'd had a nightmare similar to this I didn't wake up tangled in bed sheets alone. I was wrapped in the sleeping bag and Jasper was holding me. Sobs shook my body and he held me closer, stroking my hair from my cheeks.

"Don't be scared Will, I'm here." He whispered against my hair. My sobs finally turned to hiccups and then sniffles. I pushed back a little but he tightened his grip on me. My heart thudded in my chest and it had nothing to do with fear. His hand came around from the back of my head and he lifted my chin so I was looking at him. There was a look in his golden eyes. Something I'd seen before but hadn't been able to figure out what it was. He'd had this look the first time he came to my rescue when I'd had the nightmare and was tangled in my sheets, when I'd fallen in the snow. Before I could try to figure it out he leaned down slowly and pressed his lips to mine. It wasn't a rough kiss but it was enough to make m e forget where I was. Warmth spread all across my body and my heart raced. He slowly pulled away enough to look down at me. I was having trouble breathing and he smiled, reaching up to brush a piece of hair from my face. I leaned into his touch so his hand cupped my cheek. My skin tingled and he stroked my cheek with his thumb.

"Breathe Will." He chuckled lightly and I nodded, trying to calm myself. I almost had it under control when the scrape of the lock interrupted us. Jasper growled and curled himself around me protectively. He had a firm grip on my hand that only tightened when the giant of a vampire entered. He froze when he saw us and a slow smile curled the corners of his mouth. I shivered and glared at him. There was something about this man that turned my stomach. And it wasn't because he was a blood thirsty vampire.

"Did I interrupt something here?" He asked. Neither of us answered but Jasper moved a little closer to me. The giant laughed and shut the door behind him.

"No really tell me, did I interrupt something because I can come back later." He insisted leaning against the door.

"Bastard." I shocked myself as well as Jasper when I spat that out. I guess it was all the emotions that had built up in me the past couple of weeks. The giant laughed and moved closer to us.

"It looks like we have a feisty one here. Riley is going to like that." He said.

"He's not going to get the chance to see." I snapped. I swear I had no idea what was making me say this stuff. It was like I was trapped and I was yelling at myself in my head to keep my mouth shut but the anger was taking over. All I could see was red and my blood pounded in my ears.

"What was that?" The giant chuckled. Jasper looked back at me, warning flashed in his eyes and his grip tightened even more on my hand.

"My sister and the Cullen's will find us before your little weasel of a boss can do anything to us. And when they do I'll watch as they tear you limb from limb and burn you." I growled. That seemed to anger the giant. He stood up straight and glared down at me. Jasper moved in closer until I was basically against the wall.

"I think I'm going to need to teach you some manners." He growled. I watched as he stomped to the door and yanked it open. He barked out a few names and four vampires, all bigger than Jasper but smaller than the giant, entered. Without a word they surrounded us. They grabbed Jasper and lifted him away from me. He struggled and growled but the four easily over powered him. I instantly regretted everything I said as I weakly got to my feet.

"No! P-please don't t-take h-him, I-I'm sorry!" I begged as tears filled my eyes. The giant grabbed me by the back of my shirt and chuckled.

"No darling, you need to be taught a lesson." He snarled.

"Dean, go easy. If Riley comes back and she is dead or almost, he will not be happy." One of the vampires holding Jasper warned and that cause Jasper to fight even harder against them. Fear clenched my stomach and I mentally beat myself up.

"I'm no idiot Alex. There's many ways to teach a lesson without killing her." Dean chuckled in my ear and I whimpered. Tears blinded me and I couldn't even get up the nerve to scream. The door slammed shut and I whimpered again when the scrape of the lock let me know there was no escaping. Dean let go of me and I fell limply to the ground. I wiped at my eyes and blindly crawled to my sleeping bag against the wall. When I got up the nerve to look up I found Dean standing against the wall across from me, watching me. He had this strange look on his face as he watched me. That sick feeling filled the pit of my stomach and I wanted to puke.

"Do you know where I was before Riley changed me?" He asked. His voice was softer but I could hear it. I swallowed hard but didn't answer. That angered him and in a split second he was in front of me. I gasped and backed up as far as the wall would let me.

"I'm going to make a rule. You answer me and I won't do anything. But if you don't answer…." He didn't finish his sentence but I got the message.

"Y-yes sir." I muttered weakly.

"Now, as I was saying. Do you know where I was before Riley turned me?" He repeated his question.

"No sir." I whimpered. He nodded approvingly and sighed dramatically.

"I was in jail, living in a tiny cell with an annoying little weasel for a roommate. Riley broke in, killing several of the guards, and rescued me. Only me and you want to know why?" He looked at me with a proud sort of expression.

"W-why?" I managed to ask though I really didn't want to know. I wanted out of here. I wanted Jasper and I to be long gone from here, back at the Cullen's or somewhere other than here. Maybe…. Maybe sharing another kiss.

"I love young girls." He spoke in a low voice and I snapped my attention back at him. I begged that he didn't mean what I thought he meant.

"Y-you d-do?" I wish my voice was stronger. Every time I stuttered he seemed to get joy out of my weakness.

"Yes. I love them. And…" He crouched down in front of me with a strange, dark look in his blood red eyes, reaching out to curl a piece of my hair around his index finger. "Have you any idea how long it's been?" I flinched away from his touch, unable to answer so I shook my head.

"Almost a year. I was the first one added to his army." He said darkly. "I've begged him to let me out and have some fun. But he keeps telling me no. He says I'll draw too much attention." He said the last part with sadness. Then another smile curled his lips and he looked at me with a hungry expression.

"But he didn't say anything about not having fun with you." He muttered.

"Jasper!" The fear inside me snapped and I screamed. Dean glared and pressed his hand to my mouth. I tried to bite at his hand but it was like biting rock.

"Are you going to be a good girl?" He hissed in my ear. Tears spilled down my cheeks and I shook my head. I would not let this man do anything to me without a fight. He growled and slammed my head back against the hard wall. I gasped for breath as white spots invaded my vision. I didn't black out though. It took a second to shake the spots and when I did I discovered Dean ripping through Jaspers shirt. I panicked as I remembered the only things covering me were the sleeping bag, the now ripped shirt, and my underwear. I tried to clutch my shirt closed but her grabbed both my hands in his and shoved them over my head, pinning them to the wall. I was sobbing now and couldn't get a scream passed them. I prayed for someone, anyone to help me. I tried to block the feel of Dean's cold fingers on skin no one but me had ever touched. I tried to block out his hums of approval. I was sure my luck had run out when the lock scraped and the room was flooded with light from outside again.

"Dean!" A growl of frustration against my neck sent a slight flicker of hope through my body. "Do you want Riley to kill you? Get off the girl." I was surprised when Dean obeyed. As soon as he let go of my hands I clutched the torn shirt tight to my body and tried to cover my bare legs with the sleeping bag again. I wiped at my eyes and watched as Dean stomped to the door where a vampire was glaring at him. Once he was out they shoved Jasper back in. They slammed and locked the door and in a split second Jasper was at my side.

"Oh God Willow are you ok?" He asked softly as I continued to cry. He tugged the sleeping bag over me tightly and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm so sorry." He muttered against my hair. I welcomed his closeness and buried my face against his chest. I was relieved Dean hadn't gotten far but it had still been frightening. I wanted to tell Jasper I was ok and that nothing had happened but I couldn't stop crying. It seemed like forever before I stopped crying enough to say anything.

"Willow… did he…" He didn't finish his sentence but I knew what he was asking.

"No." I said hoarsely, sniffing. "H-he r-ripped my…" My voice faded off and Jasper shushed me, pulling me closer again, rubbing my back.

"He won't touch you again." His voice was hard.

"H-how can you stop him? I-it's like… f-fifty to one." My voice broke at the truth and I tried to block images out of my head. Jasper chuckled darkly and I looked up at him, wondering what he thought was funny.

"Everything is going to be ok. I promise." He said, pressing a kiss to my forehead. My skin tingled there.

"How do you know?" I asked weakly. I wanted to believe him but under the circumstances it was hard to.

"When they took me outside, we go a whiff of something. They excused it for being a coyote or something. I know its Jacob and Seth." He chuckled lightly and I jumped back to look at him.

"Are you serious?" I gasped. He pressed his hand over my mouth and shushed me.

"Yes." He whispered.

"B-but how?" I was a mixture of emotions, joy, fear, doubt.

"I don't know. But it was them. I know Riley will be here soon. I just hope the others get here before he does." He sounded a little nervous but I chose to ignore it.

"Still… Riley has more people than us." I muttered.

"Yes, but we have experience." He said. I looked at him curious as to what he meant, but he didn't share any information. We were silent again. I didn't want to break it. Jasper was deep in thought. His fingers had slipped under my hair and he was now stroking my neck. It was amazingly soothing and I didn't want him to stop. I tried to fight a yawn but it won. That brought him out of his thoughts. He shifted so he was leaning against the wall and he lifted me onto his lap. I lay my head against his chest.

"You should rest." He said softly.

"Why are you always telling me to sleep?" I wondered out loud.

"It's either that or you can tell me why you've been avoiding me all week." He said with an amused tone to his voice. My cheeks flushed and I buried my face against him. He chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around me. With his help I was able to drift to sleep. I kept myself calm by thinking that help was on the way.

**Chapter Fourteen**

**(Willow's POV)**

It had been hours since Jasper told me about Jacob and Seth being close by. I'd slept for a little bit but nightmares haunted me and when I woke up in tears I refused to let Jasper put me to sleep again. I guess when he'd told me about the others I'd expected they'd rescue us any minute. After four hours of nothing I'd become very nervous and worried that something had happened. Every little noise made me jump.

"Willow, you need to calm down." Jasper told me for the hundredth time. I felt bad for being so jittery because I knew he could feel it and it must be very annoying. But I just couldn't get my nerves down. Even when Jasper tried to soothe me with his powers it didn't do much good except make me really tired. And I did not want to sleep at a time like this. Not only was I worried about Bella and the others, after the kiss, I didn't know what to think. Did Jasper like me as much as I did him? Were we… an item now? I pushed those thoughts out of my head and pulled the sleeping bag tighter around me. I had put my clothes back on, though they were still damp and sent chills down my spine. After what Dean had done, though I knew I was lucky he hadn't done more than he had, I couldn't seem to have enough clothes on. I was angered and terrified about the situation. My cheeks flushed and my heart pounded with fear every time I thought about it.

"I'm sorry." I apologized and Jasper gave me a wry smile.

"I just don't want you to work yourself into frenzy." He said. My cheeks reddened even more. He didn't know what kind of frenzy I was in inside. All the thoughts and emotions swirling around inside me, I felt like I was about to explode. Several times I had stopped myself from asking him something in these few hours. I couldn't bring myself to do it though. The thought of the awkward silence afterward stopped me every time. And also, what his answer would be. But after another hour of silence and I thought more and more on it, I couldn't stop myself.

"Why did you kiss me?" I blurted out. Jasper was leaning against the wall close to the door, most likely listening to what was happening out there, and when I asked that his head snapped in my direction. I sucked in a lung full of air and cursed myself. Why didn't I just let him put me to sleep? It was too late now. The question was out there and I would have to deal with the consequences. It seemed like forever that he just stared at me, not even blinking. My lungs burned so I let the air out in a rather loud whoosh and that seemed to bring him out of his thoughts. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I guess there is no beating around the bush." He said quietly. I held my breath again as he pushed away from the wall and in three strides he was in front of me. He knelt down and gave me a half smile.

"This is not the time or place to bring these things out in the open, but…" He trailed off and looked down. My heart pounded in my chest. He finally looked back up at me and he had that look in his eyes again. That soft look he'd had right before he kissed me.

"I like you Willow." He said softly. At those words my heart about burst out of my chest and did a happy dance. I let out the breath I was holding and tried to breathe normally but failed. Then he continued. "I have since really the first time I met you." I felt like I was about to have a heart attack. I opened my mouth trying to say something back but failed. I swallowed hard and cleared my throat.

"Jasper… I-" I was cut off when he stood up straight, eyes narrowed.

"W-what's wrong?" I asked. He moved towards the door. I got to my feet, a little shakily, and went over next to him. That's when I heard it. It sounded like a dozen or so dogs fighting outside. I opened my mouth to ask what was going on but was cut off. I was suddenly pressed against the wall on the other side of the room, Jasper pressed against. A loud noise like an explosion made me scream. Jasper let go of me and I stumbled away from him in shock. The whole wall where the door had been was gone and dust and swirled in the air, making it hard to see even what was in front of me. A figure stood there, which I guessed was Jasper. Before I could even think about what had just happen someone was grabbing me by the arms hard.

"We have to go." I recognized a female's voice though I couldn't see who it was. I opened my mouth to speak but I inhaled a lung full of dust and choked. I heard a sigh of frustration and then I was no longer standing on solid ground but being carried.

"Put me down!" I screamed in shock. She did as I said and set me on my feet, though I wobbled a little. I was shocked to find Rosalie standing next to me. I inhaled clean air and looked to see where we were. The night was clear outside and the light from the full moon reflected off the snow and created light enough for me to see. We were standing on a hill and it seemed like we were in the middle of nowhere until I looked to my left and saw a group of buildings. We were so far away I could only see blurred dots.

"H-how did you find us?" I asked watching the scene in amazement.

"When you and Jasper didn't return to the others they went looking for you and found one of Riley's minions. It didn't take long to break him." She smirked in a way that made me wonder if she meant it literally. "They waited for us to join before acting though."

"Where did Jasper go?" I asked, suddenly realizing he hadn't followed us.

"He joined the fight once I promised him I'd protect you." She said before grabbing my arm. "Which, I mean to do, so please get on my back." She turned around and I hesitated before doing as she said. Only right after I secured my arms around my neck were we off again. The freezing air felt like needles against my skin and my teeth were chattering in seconds. My heart pounded and relief flooded through my body as I realized I was safe. Or at least I thought we were safe. Until I was suddenly face down in the freezing snow. I heard growling and hissing behind me as something hard and cold lay on top of me, suffocating me in the snow.

"If Riley doesn't have you then I will." I recognized that voice in my ear and a shiver ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the snow. I screamed for Rosalie but that was incredibly hard to do with a thousand pound vampire lying on top of me. The weight was lifted off me and I struggled to sit up, spitting snow out of my mouth and wiping it out of my eyes as I heard the growling and what sounded like rocks hitting up against each other. I turned around and stared at the huge blur in front of me. Everything was so fast I had no idea what was going on. Suddenly it all stopped. I gaped as I recognized Emmett behind Dean and Rosalie and Esme holding either one of his arms. Before I could do anything they ripped his arms off with sickening crunching sounds and his blood curdling screaming. That was cut off when Emmett ripped off his head. I sat in shock as the headless and armless body fell forward into the snow, landing a foot away from me. I stared at the lifeless body for what seemed like forever. I jumped when a hand landed on my shoulder. I looked up and found Esme had moved away from the body and was now kneeling beside me.

"Honey, are you ok?" She asked softly. I opened my mouth to answer but it wasn't words that came out. I chocking sob escaped my lips and without a word Esme wrapped her arms around me and stroked my back, speaking soothingly as I sobbed against her.

"I'm sorry, he just ran after you guys." I heard Emmett explaining to Rosalie behind us.

"It's ok baby." Rosalie answered softly.

"Both of you go back and make everyone's ok. I'll take Willow the rest of the way." Esme spoke. I didn't hear them answer but I knew they probably did as she'd said. It was a few minutes before my sobs turned to sniffles. Esme didn't push me away or anything. The way she rubbed my back and spoke reminded me of the way my mother would do the same when I was a child and needed comforting. More tears welled in my eyes but I willed the away and pushed back, wiping at the freezing tears on my cheeks.

"Are you ok?" She asked, wiping my wet hair from my face. I sniffed and nodded. She stood up slowly and reached her hand out to me.

"Do you think you can stand?" Again I nodded and I reached for her hand. She pulled me easily up to my feet so I was standing on wobbly legs.

"It's not far but could you get on my back?" She asked softly."It would be quicker and I can get you warm faster." I nodded and she turned. I felt silly getting on her back. Other than the piggy back Rosalie had given me a few minutes before I hadn't had one since I was kid at camp and my best friend at the time had wanted to prove she was strong and could carry me all the way to the lake. I latched my arms tightly around her neck and buried my face in her back to hide it from the wind. It was only a few minutes before she stopped and helped me back on my feet. We were standing right next to a silver Hummer. She opened the door and helped me climb in. I shivered against the freezing cold seats. It was only a second that she shut my door that she was climbing into the driver's seat. As soon as she turned the car on she turned the heater on full blast. It wasn't long before the heat met my face and I leaned towards it shivering, hands out in front of the vent. Esme stepped on the gas and I lurched back against my seat.

"Sorry." She said. We drove in silence for a while. I curled my legs up on the seat and buried my face in my knees. I jumped at a buzz and looked up as Esme answered her phone.

"Is everyone ok?" Was how she answered. She was quiet after a few minutes. From the light of the moon outside I could see her body slump against her seat and relax.

"Good…yeah she's fine, a little shook up but fine… ok…we'll meet you there." I listened to her end of the conversation and immediately jumped on her as soon as she hung up.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Everyone is ok. That is, everyone from our side is." She said and I didn't miss the satisfied smirk. I relaxed in my seat. I hadn't realized my body had been as tense as it had. At hearing this good news I felt like a balloon that someone had let all the air out. What replaced the worry was exhaustion. I sighed and leaned against the door and pointed to the vents at me so hot air still blew on my face. I could feel myself slowly falling into a deep sleep and this time it wasn't because of Jasper putting me to sleep.

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When I woke up I found myself no longer in the front seat of the hummer but on a very warm and comfortable bed. I'd been changed out of my wet clothes and into a pair of fleece pajama pants and a sweat shirt. Two pairs of socks were on my feet and four blankets were piled on top of me. I felt like I was suffocating I sat up, ignoring the pain in my back, and pushed the blankets off. When I did that though a hot pain flashed up my arm and I clutched it tightly to my chest. I must have sprained it when Dean landed on me. The blankets fell from the bed and I could breathe easy again. After that I peeled the socks off my feet with my uninjured arm and wriggled my toes in relief. I looked around and saw I was in what looked like a hotel room, the lamp on the bedside table spread warm light around the room. I saw my dirty clothes on a pile in the floor. I moved to get off the bed but stopped when the door opened and more light flooded in. Bella stood in the doorway. Without a word she rushed forward and pulled me tightly against her.

"I'm so sorry Will; I didn't mean to get you into a mess like that." She said in a pained voice.

"It wasn't your fault." I assured her, squeezing her back and feeling my throat thicken with emotion. She didn't pull away.

"No, it was my fault. I never should have let you go alone." She said, squeezing me harder, causing my arm to hurt.

"Bella… I can't really breathe." I gasped for air and tried to cry out in pain.

"Sorry." She relaxed her hold a little but still didn't let go. I sighed and closed my eyes. We sat like that for a while. Tears leaked out of my eyes but I didn't bother to wipe the away. When I sniffed she pulled away and reached for the box of tissues on the bedside table. I took one and wiped at my nose.

"It won't happen again. It's all over." She said softly, reaching up and brushing a piece of my hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ear. Relief bloomed in my chest.

"Even… Riley? He's gone?" I asked.

"No." Her face fell and fear gripped my stomach again. "He was there. He'd just got there when we attacked. He took one look and abandoned his little army like the coward he is." She growled the last part but I guess my face showed what I was feeling inside. She relaxed again and squeezed my hand.

"It's ok though, I promise. He's gone for now and we won't let anything, and I mean anything happen to you again." She said. I relaxed again and she pulled me back to her tightly, stroking my hair. I welcomed the warm sisterly embrace and enjoyed it while it last. It seemed like forever before she pulled away again and looked a little sad.

"Jasper… told us what happened." She began slowly and dread filled the pit of my stomach. "What that guy, Dean, did. Or tried to do." I could hear the anger building in her voice. I didn't say anything. She let the awkward silence hand in the air for a few minutes and I picked at a loose thread on the bedspread. She put her hand on my face and turned it towards her so I had no choice but to look at her.

"Are you sure he didn't hurt you?" She asked softly. My face flushed and I looked down again.

"Other than making me want to die a virgin, he didn't do anything." I answered softly. I heard her sigh of relief.

"I'm so sorry." She said again. I shook my head and looked at her with a sad sigh.

"It wasn't your fault. Please, don't blame yourself." I begged her. She sighed again and didn't answer. One again we were surrounded by silence. The she frowned and looked at my chest. I looked to and realized I was clutching my injured arm to my chest again.

"What's wrong with your arm?" She asked.

"I think I sprained it." I said.

"Idiot, I shoulder have let Carlisle check you out first." She slapped her hand to her forehead and sprang from the bed and hung her head out the door. A second later Carlisle entered the room with Edward behind him.

"Let me see it." Carlisle reached out and gently pulled my arm out. I winced but refused to cry out in pain. After a few seconds of feeling and bending he confirmed it was sprained.

"I'll see if I can find things to make a temporary sling." He said, standing up and leaving the room. Edward stepped out of the way and leaned against the doorway, giving me one of his crooked grins.

"How're you doing kid?" He asked.

"As good as I can be I guess." I said, shrugging my good shoulder. He chuckled and Carlisle re-entered with a spare sheet. He sat on the bed before easily tearing it two. He made a makeshift sling out of a part of it and waded up the rest.

"That'll have to do until we get home." He said as he finished tying it.

"When can we go home?" I asked.

"As soon as your ready and the others get back." He chuckled.

"Where are the others?" I asked curiously. They went quiet. It was Edward that answered.

"They needed to burn the bodies." He said. I stared at him horror struck and Bella threw a glare in his direction. He winced. "Sorry." He added. I shook my head to try and shake the image out of my head.

"Do you need anything?" Bella asked, quickly changing the subject. At that moment my stomach chose to answer with a rather loud growl.

"I guess that answered that question." Edward said with a chuckle, pushing away from the wall. "I'll be back momentarily." He said before disappearing out the door. Carlisle stood up and headed towards the door.

"I'm going to make some airport arrangements. Try not to jostle your arm ok?" He asked at the doorway. I nodded and he smiled before leaving.

"Other than food is there anything else?" Bella asked, sitting next to me.

"I'd really like to shower." I answered sheepishly. She chuckled and stood up.

"I think we can arrange that. But I might need to help you so you don't get the sling wet." She said. I hesitated. I didn't really want help but I really wanted a shower. I sighed before nodding. Thirty embarrassing minutes later I sat on the bed again dressed in clean pajamas and Bella was towel drying my hair.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" She asked. My cheeks flamed but I didn't say anything as she finished with the towel and pulled a brush out of nowhere. She worked out the knots and braided it while I flipped through the channels on the TV. I stopped when I found one of my favorite shows on TV. Bella's hands stilled on my hair and I heard her sigh.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Really?" She asked.

"Hey, it's one of my favorites. I used to sneakily watch it when I was younger. Dad and mom never liked for me to watch because it gave me nightmares." I confessed.

"Fake giant snake gods gave you nightmares?" I could hear the amusement in her voice and I blushed.

"It's just in this episode." I muttered. She laughed and started braiding my hair as I watched Buffy cut the snake in half. Edward was back soon with a bag of food. The smell made my stomach growl and he handed me the bag before sitting down on the corner bed, frowning at the TV.

"Oh great, a Buffy marathon." He scoffed. I rolled my eyes and opened the bag to find a burger and fries. My mouth watered and I thanked him.

"I had the diner make it fresh and special. They weren't really happy but they dealt with it." He said with a shrug. I ate quickly, every bite melting in my mouth. Once I was done eating Edward threw the leftovers and the bag in the trashcan and Bella stood up.

"You should get some sleep. Carlisle was able to get us all a flight home for tomorrow night." Edward said. I nodded and Bella hugged me goodnight. Once they were gone I flicked the TV off but left the bedside lamp on as I crawled under the covers again, full and feeling exhausted. I was almost asleep when there was a light knock on my door. I called for whoever it was to come in, thinking it was probably Bella or maybe Carlisle checking on my sling. My heart sputtered when it was Jasper that entered. He was no longer shirtless but wearing a black t-shirt. I found that a little disappointing.

"Hi." He said simply, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey." I said weakly. He gave me a slight smile.

"I'm sorry to bother you; I just wanted to see if you were ok."

"You're not bothering me, and I'm fine." I answered smiling a little.

"Good." He said, visibly relaxing a little as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. We fell into an awkward silence and I picked at the blanket again, wishing I was wearing something other than a sweat shirt and wishing I had on little bit of makeup.

"Well… I'll let you get some rest." He said awkwardly, turning to leave.

"Wait." I stopped him, surprising myself. He turned to look at me, hand on the doorknob. I cleared my throat before continuing. "That… you said… before we were rescued… I… I l-like you too." I blurted the last part out quickly. He stared at me for a few seconds before a small smile graced his lips. He looked down for a second before meeting my gaze.

"Good. Because I meant what I said." He winked before opening the door and leaving me with an excited rapidly beating heart and unable to breathe normally. I collapsed back on the bed and pressed a pillow against my face. I'm pretty sure I was still smiling in my sleep.


	8. Chapter 15 and 16

**New Life**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**(Willow's POV)**

"No Bella." I hissed crossing my arms. She glared at me.

"I just want to help you." She argued.

"I don't need help." I said rolling my eyes. Right at that moment Carlisle and Esme entered the kitchen.

"What's going on?" He asked frowning.

"Carlisle, please tell Bella I'm fully able to shower without help." I said, desperate for someone to be on my side. He looked a little uncomfortable but he looked at Bella and nodded.

"She's right. Just as long as she doesn't make any sudden moves or anything she can do it without hurting herself." He said. Bella hesitated for a moment before nodding with a sigh.

"Fine, but I will be right outside if you need anything." She insisted. I sighed and shook my head but didn't refuse, knowing that I couldn't budge her. I turned and resumed stirring my pan of vegetables and chicken. I'd finally convinced Bella and the others that I was fully able to cook my meals. It made me feel lazy having them do everything for me. After a little argument they agreed but insisted they pay for my food supplies. I reluctantly agreed only because I didn't have any money to buy the food.

"Have you finished packing?" Esme asked me.

"Almost, I just need to finish packing my clothes." I said.

"I have to go finish a few things for my transfer." Carlisle said. Esme kissed him goodbye and he waved at Bella and I before taking his leave. After we'd returned from Alaska there'd been a family meeting of which everyone agreed to Carlisle's idea that relocating might throw Riley off our track if he was still coming after us. I felt bad that everyone was moving on my behalf. Edward had interrupted my thought by assuring me I wasn't because they would have been moving the next year after they all 'graduated' anyway. I felt a little better after that. I got even more excited when Esme had come into my room the next night with a picture of where we were moving. They'd bought an old house in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming. Along with a lot, and I mean A LOT ofprivate land. It was thirty minutes from the nearest small town that they said wasn't really any bigger than Forks but it had a high school we'd be able to go to and a hospital that apparently was looking for a good doctor. The outside of the house looked amazing and she told me it had five bedrooms each with their own bathrooms. The house was a little bit out in the open but had trees sprinkled here and there around the house. And it had its own lake. Even though it was only a few days until Christmas and was at the moment snowing outside, I'd still be able to enjoy it in the summer. Rosalie and Emmett had left a week ago to start the decorating. Esme had been on her cell phone or on her laptop talking over things with Rosalie almost every hour.

"Do you need any help?" Bella asked leaning against the counter next to me.

"No, I'll probably just throw it all in a bag." I said with a shrug.

"Yeah you're not doing that." She said wrinkling her nose. "I'll go ahead and finish since I'm not doing anything."

"Bella leave it I'll get it!" I called after her but she ignored me. As she left Jasper entered and I turned back to my chicken so that just maybe he wouldn't see the way my face turned red and my heart sped up. We'd established a friendship ever since we got back. Which, usually consisted of us watching movies and him making fun of how I coward at the blood and gore. He thought it was funny since I lived in a house full of vampires.

"Jasper are you finished with your room?" Esem asked.

"Yes ma'am." He answered in his deep smooth way.

"Good, I have few more things to do. If you wouldn't mind packing those in the boxes when you're finished Willow then all will be finished here." As she spoke her voice faded so I took she had left the kitchen. I'd discovered Esme was really into decorating, so I knew the few things she needed to do was look at the rooming chart she'd made as well as more than likely look over the paint swatches and change what color would go in w hat room.

"I know something you don't know." I didn't miss the playful tone in Jaspers tone as he leaned against the counter where Bella had been a few seconds before. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye and couldn't but notice how hot he looked in the red button down. His lips were turned up on one side giving me a half grin.

"And that would be?" I asked a little breathlessly.

"It's a surprise." He said shrugging, smile growing.

"I don't like surprised. Especially the ones lately." I said frowning.

"You'll like this one." He said with a chuckle.

"Promise it has nothing to do with being kidnapped and certain death?"

"Scouts honor."

"You weren't a boy scout." I rolled my eyes.

"No but I did make up a club with a couple of my buddies." He smiled at the memory I was sure he was replaying in his head and his took on a faraway look. That was the first time I'd ever heard him mention anything about his human life. I suddenly felt sad for him. I wondered how it was for him, for all of them, having to leave their family and friends, knowing they were growing old without them and would one day die. My throat grew tight and I could feel tears pricking my eyes. What would it be like for Bella when I grew old in front of her eyes and eventually died?

"Willow!" Jasper cried, breaking through my deeps thoughts at the same time I felt a searing pain on my hand. I yanked my hand away from the stove where I had mistakenly place my bare palm. Tears sprang to my eyes and I clenched my teeth, willing myself not to cry in front of Jasper as I clutched my injured hand.

"Let me see it." Jasper tried to pull my hand away from my chest but I pulled it back. "I have to see how bad it is." He insisted. I finally let him look and he took my hand gingerly in his. He ran a finger down a mark that was slowly appearing and I gasped at the pain.

"Shit." I hissed through my teeth. He jerked his finger away and reached behind me to turn the stove off where my chicken was smoking.

"What happened?" I looked over my shoulder to see Bella had appeared with Edward behind her, panic evident in her expression.

"She burned herself." Jasper answered, still holding my hand. Bella hurried to my side, looking a little relieved but still worried.

"It's not bad." I muttered though it hurt like hell.

I was sure my face couldn't get anymore red. I was wrong. A few minutes later I was seated on the desk with an ice bag on my hand as Bella and Edward searched Carlisle's office for bandages and medicine. Jasper stood by my side. Edward applied some kind of medicine that made it burn even more. I hissed and tried not cry. My heart leaped in my chest when a cool hand slipped into the one that had been gripping the edge of the desk. I looked up and Jasper gave me his half grin. By the time they'd finished playing doctor my hand looked like it belonged to a mummy. A little over the top since it was only my palm.

"You know, we do own oven mitts." Edward said looking at me with a raised brow and an amused grin. I glared at him as I felt my face go even redder.

"It didn't happen like that." I hissed at him.

"Then I'd love to know how it happened." He chuckled. Before I could stop the memory of how it had happened ran through my mind and he laughed a little harder. Bella slapped his chest as I slid off the desk, preparing to leave.

"I'm going to finish packing." I muttered. When I left everyone followed. When I got to the living room Bella and Edward went to the living room and plopped down on the sofa. Jasper followed me up the stairs though.

"Are you ok?" He asked once I stopped at my doorway and looked at him.

"Yeah." I said with a shrug, looking down at my bandaged hand.

"I'm sorry I distracted you." He said cringing a little.

"You didn't." I said and one of his eyebrows rose, knowing I was lying. I looked down but didn't miss his grin. We were silent for a few seconds. I heard him move and when I looked up my heart stumbled when I found him standing so close I could see the gold flecks in his eyes. I stood nervously as he glanced down at my lips and leaned a little closer. My heart pounded hard in my chest. He hadn't kissed me since that time in the shed in Alaska and he was going to do it now. His lips pressed lightly to mine and my eyes slid closed. I sank against the wall and I felt him smile before him deepened the kiss a little. And then there was nothing. I blinked rapidly at finding Jasper was no longer in front of me. It didn't take long for me to see where he'd gone. Bella had him pinned to the wall, cracked mind you from her freakish strength, growling.

"What hell are you doing to my sister?" She shrieked.

"Bella!" I ran to her and tried to rip her away from him but it was like trying to move a thousand pound statue. She whipped her head around to glare at me. I jumped back at the fierce look she gave me and slammed into Edward who pushed me aside to go to Jaspers rescue, who from the looks of Bella, was about to have his head ripped off.

"Bella, baby, calm down." Edward tried in a soothing voice.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" She shrieked but I could see her hold on Jaspers neck was loosening. For the first time ever, Jasper looked scared shitless.

"Bella please! Let go of him!" I begged. She sent a glare at me and I clamped my lips shut.

"What the hell were you doing to her?" She hissed, whipping her back around so she was nose to nose with Jasper.

"Bella, I wasn't going to hurt her." He tried calmly.

"Really? Because with your control, that could have turned to something bad and she could be dead!" She shrieked.

"Bella! Let go of him." As Edward spoke he wrenched her hands away from Jasper. Much to my relief she didn't lunge at him again. Jasper took a few steps away from her. We fell into an uncomfortable silence, Bella glaring from me to Jasper and back again. I started to push myself back up, rage turning my vision red as I glared back at Bella. Jasper moved to help me but from another glare from Bella and a growl, he stopped and gave me an apologetic shrug.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I growled at Bella. She looked a little stunned for a second before her glare returned.

"What's wrong with me? What about you?" She yelled.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" I yelled back.

"This," She motioned at Jasper and I "Can't happen." I opened my mouth to speak but Jasper cut in.

"Excuse me." He looked like he was ready to pounce at Bella.

"You can't date a vampire!" She ignored him.

"You did!" I screeched.

"Girls! What is going on?" I hadn't noticed Esme appear and she looked a little worried.

"That was different." Bella had lowered her voice but it was still angry.

"How?" I folded my arms, waiting for her answer. She opened her mouth and closed it, trying to think of something else to say.

"It wasn't different." Edward sighed.

"Yes it was!" She yelled at him before turning to me. "I was in love with Edward."

"Well who's to say I'm not in love with Jasper?" I shrieked before I could think. Everyone went silent and stared at me as I slapped my hands over my mouth. Did I really say that? By the stunned look on Bella and Jaspers face I had. I could feel my cheeks burn and tears pricked my eyes from the anger and embarrassment. So I did what any girl who had confessed her love in front of the guy she was in love with and ran into my room, slamming my door and plunging myself under the heaps of pillows and clothing on my bed.

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I spent about two hours under the pillows and clothes, mentally beating myself up and crying. Back in Alaska, Jasper had said he liked me, not loved me. I'd more than likely scared him away! Every time that though came up I sobbed again. No one came into my room during this time and I was glad. I couldn't get the image of Jaspers face out of my head and it sent another pang of embarrassment through me every time. I considered packing a bag and leaving the Cullen's. I'd actually gotten up to go through with it when there was a light knock on my door. I couldn't bring myself to answer, just prayed whoever it was would go away. No such luck. A few seconds later the door opened slowly and Bella stepped in. She no longer looked angry but, sympathetic. And she wasn't empty handed. She held a pizza box and a can of Dr. Pepper. My stomach noticed and growled loudly. She smiled a little and waved the box a little.

"I come in peace?" She attempted. When I didn't say anything she sighed and stepped the rest of the way in, knocking the door shut with her foot. For a few seconds she stood where she was studying me. Then she sighed and walked the rest of the way in. She set the pizza on my bedside table and tossed the can to me lightly. I had no choice but to catch it.

"Look, I'm sorry I flew off the handle the way I did." She spoke as she went to sit cross legged on the end of my bed facing me. "But… you have to look at my point of view. I walked in on Jasper pinning you against the wall and kissing you." I didn't answer for a while. Then I sighed. I guess that could have been pretty shocking. Since she really had no idea I liked Jasper and he liked me too.

"So… do you forgive me?" She asked.

"Yeah." I sighed, cracking open the can and taking a long drink, after all the crying I was really thirsty. "I'm sorry too." I added. We went silent again. My stomach growled again, breaking the silence.

"You should eat." Bella smirked. I opened the box and took a slice. She waited until I'd eaten the first piece before she spoke again.

"I'd just like to know this," She began, looking a little uncomfortable. "How long have you… liked Jasper?"

"I-I thought he was cute since the first time I saw him." I admitted with a blush. "But I guess when I knew I really liked him was during Alaska. Then he… told me he liked me when we were being held hostage." She studied one of my shirts for a few minutes with a blank expression before she finally looked back up at me.

"I don't mean to make you angry, but I don't like this." She held up a hand when I opened my mouth to speak. "Its not because I don't like Jasper, I love him as if he were my blood, but… Willow I know the dangers that come with dating a vampire and I know that one day, you will have to make a very hard choice. To either stay human and grow old while he stays young or… be damned for eternity. Do you understand?" I did understand. I didn't mention that the thought had crossed my mind on more than one occasion.

"I just ask that you will take it slow with him and make sure this is what you want. Ok?" She asked hopefully. I thought for a minute before slowly nodding.

"I promise." And I meant it. She smiled sadly and leaned forward to hug me. I hugged her tightly and felt tears prick my eyes.

"I wouldn't worry though." I sighed when the image of Jaspers expression popped up in my head. She pulled back and frowned at me. "I don't think Jasper feels the same."

"What makes you say that? I thought you said he told you he likes you." She said with a frown.

"Yeah but… not that he loved me… like I did out there." I blushed at the memory. "Did you see his face?" Bella laughed a little and shook her head, pushing a piece of my hair away from my face.

"I wouldn't worry about that." She said.

"Why?"

"Because it took Edward, Esme, and I to hold him back from running into your room after you." She said smirking. I gaped at her and she stood up without waiting for a reply.

"I want you to pack all this stuff, neatly, before you go to bed ok?" She asked. Unable to answer I just nodded. He'd tried to come after me?

"Night Will." And with that she was gone, leaving me to battle with myself again.

**Chapter Sixteen**

**(Willow's POV)**

By the time I was finished packing it was two in the morning. I hadn't even bothered to undress, just fell in bed and pulled the covers up around my head. It seemed like I'd just blinked when Bella woke me up by shaking my shoulder.

"Wakey wakey! Moving day!" She said in too cheery of voice at this time in the morning. I answered her by groaning and pulling my pillow up over my head. A second later it was ripped away.

"Go take a shower. It'll help you wake up." She said with a laugh. "We leave in an hour." And I heard my door close. I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before rolling out of bed and stumbling to the bathroom. I stood under the hot spray of the shower for a while. It helped wake me up a little but I was still tired. Never again would I put off packing. I quickly dried my hair and applied makeup before leaving the bathroom to get dressed. I froze mid yawn. My room had been completely stripped of all the bags. Even my bed had been stripped of the pillows, sheets, and blankets. I rolled my eyes when I saw a lone back pack on the mattress. A pair of jeans and a t-shirt lay out next to it with my shoes. I quickly dressed and stuffed my warm pajamas and toiletry bag into the backpack before slinging over my shoulder, said a silent goodbye to the comfy bed that was calling me back, and turn the light off. Downstairs I found the front door open and Bella waiting on the bottom step. The downstairs had changed during the night. The coffee table was pushed up against the wall and white sheets covered the sofa, chairs, and TV. When she heard me coming Bella jumped up and grinned up at me.

"Ready?" She asked excitedly.

"No. It's too early." I said trying to fight back another yawn. I lost. Bella laughed and motioned me down.

"Come on, you can sleep in the car." She said. I followed her outside where Edward was leaning against his silver Volvo on his cell phone. When I came out he smiled and waved. I glared in return. He chuckled and hung up his phone.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." He said as he opened the front passenger door for Bella. She laughed and got in. After shutting her door he opened the backseat where I saw a couple of pillows and a fleece blanket. Bella hadn't been kidding when she'd said I could go back to sleep.

"Your chariot my lady." Edward joked. I rolled my eyes and got in, immediately I pulled the blanket over me and shivered. This really was way too early. It was still dark outside! Edward went back to the house and disappeared inside. When he came out he locked the door behind him. That's when I realized Esme, Carlisle, and Jasper were nowhere in sight.

"Where are the others?" I asked as Edward got in the driver's side.

"They left after we got the rest of your stuff while you were getting ready." Bella answered and disappointment settled in my chest. Edward looked over his shoulder at me.

"Don't worry he'll be there when we get there tonight." He said. I blushed a little and sank down in my seat. With the help of the soft pillows, warm blanket, and the soft music Edward and Bella played, I felt myself drifting asleep in no time.

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The trip wasn't all that bad, if you enjoyed arguing with a thick headed vampire over music. The one we all know as Edward Cullen.

"You put One Republic up next to One Direction and you see who will be laughed off the stage." Edward almost yelled, looking away from the road at me. I rolled my eyes and stuck my feet back up on the dashboard, where Edward easily knocked them down again. As you can see, we had different tastes in music. Not that I don't like One Republic, but I think they are both good! Edward thinks different.

"Damn right I do." Edward said and I rolled my eyes. Bella's hand appeared from the back and thumped Edward on the back of the head.

"Language Edward." She hissed. I rolled my eyes and looked back her.

"I'm not a kid Bella. You don't have to shield my ears." I said as she leaned back against the seat.

"I think they are both great." I said, returning to our last conversation as I picked up the iPod.

"If you play That's What Makes You Beautiful one more time I'll smash it." Edward warned.

"Yeah right." I scoffed.

"I can buy a new one. Don't tempt me." He looked at me with a raised brow and I rolled my eyes but chose a different song. By the time we pulled onto a gravel driveway it was starting to get dark. The house was even prettier than the photo had shown. There was a separate building off to the side and I could see Rosalie's convertible sticking out. There was a second story with stairs leading from the outside up to a door that I guessed was for storage. As we got out of the car the front to the house opened and Esme came out followed by everyone else. I grabbed Edward's keys from the ignition so I could my back pack and he glared. I just stuck my tongue out at him.

"Brat." He muttered. I just laughed and went around to the back of the car to pop the trunk. Before I could sling my backpack over my shoulder a hand shot out and grabbed it. I followed the arm up, even though I already knew who it was.

"Hi." He said with a slight smile. My heart flip flopped in my chest and I had to swallow hard before I could answer back.

"H-hey." My voice sounded squeaky and I winced. Before I could answer though, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me off the ground into a crushing bear hug.

"Oh thank you're here, I've dying for a good laugh." Emmett said as he ruffled my hair. I blushed at that but laughed a little. When he set me down Esme was there with a bright smile. She pulled me into a less tight but still snug hug.

"How do you like it?" She asked.

"It's beautiful, from what I can see." I said.

"Can we show her the surprise now?" I heard Edward ask from behind me. Esme let go and nodded excitedly. I'd forgotten all about the thing they weren't telling me about. Before I could ask though, I was suddenly blinded by a piece of cloth.

"Ow!" I cried in shock.

"That didn't hurt." Bella was the one tying the blindfold behind my head and I could see her rolling her eyes.

"How do you know?" I grumbled. I gasped when I was swept off my feet. I blindly reached out and wrapped my arms tightly around the person's neck. I heard a familiar deep chuckle and my breath caught in my throat. I could feel my hands starting to sweat and I clutched the collar oh his shirt.

"Breathe." He reminded lightly and I could hear the humor in his voice. My face burned knowing everyone else could hear my heart fighting to stay normal and could see how tense I'd gotten.

"W-why am I blindfolded?" I sputtered.

"We don't want you to see where you're going." Bella said in a 'duh' kind of tone

"Well I'm not that stupid, I knew that much. Where are we going?" I was proud I sounded normal when I spoke. Jasper chuckled and I could feel the deep vibration against his chest.

"It's the surprise." He said. Then his arms tightened around me and the familiar breeze told me he was running. It was over in a split second. I heard the squeak of hinges and then he was setting me down gently. I was a little unsteady on my feet so he grabbed my arm gently so I didn't topple over.

"Can I take it off now?" I asked, already reaching for the blindfold.

"Yeah go ahead." Bella laughed. I reached up and pulled the blindfold off, blinking at the sudden brightness of an over head light. I didn't know what they were showing me. We were standing in an empty room with white walls, a few windows, and sleek brand new wooden floors. There were two doors on either side of the room. I turned to look behind me to find everyone waiting for my reaction.

When I didn't say anything Edward rolled his eyes.

"Bella miss bright here hasn't figured it out yet." He said. Everyone laughed and Bella slung an arm over my shoulder.

"This." She motioned to the empty room. "Is all yours." Then it hit me and I gasped, slapping a hand over my mouth.

"Are you serious?" I gasped out, muffled by my fingers. I was a little shocked and excited. Bella nodded with a smile and I threw my arms around her.

"Hey now, it wasn't my idea." She laughed I pulled back and looked at Esme. Before I could say anything she grinned and shook her head.

"It was my idea." I hadn't even noticed Rosalie had joined the group. She was in the back, leaning against the door way with a little smile. Not her usual sneer or glare at me. I was speechless for a few seconds and she took that time to shrug.

"I just thought you may like a little privacy for yourself." She said. I'm not sure how I got over there so fast but in a second I was hugging her so tight if she'd been human I'm sure she would have been gasping for air. She hugged me back and laughed a little.

"It's empty for now, I didn't know how you'd like to decorate, so we thought we'd take you to the hardware store and you could paint it yourself this weekend." She said.

"Until then, you'll be staying in one of the furnished rooms in the house." Esme told me. I let go of Rosalie and turned to face them.

"I've made a few rules." Bella interrupted my excitement and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Come on, there's more stuff in the trunk of the car." Edward said slapping Emmett's chest and grabbing Jasper's shoulder. No doubt he was leaving before there was another fight between Bella and I. a few seconds later it was only us females in the apartment. I sighed and motioned for Bella to continue.

"I don't want you sneaking out in the middle of the night." She said this with a serious expression and I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Seriously Bella? How do you suppose I'd sneak out without you hearing me?" I asked.

"I don't know but you'd figure a way." She said shaking her head and frowning. "Second, no boys in here unless I know they are here." She gave me a pointed look and I rolled my eyes.

"Again, how could I without you knowing?"

"When I go hunting you could." She said. I rolled my eyes again but didn't say anything else. "You promise?" She pressed.

"I promise." I sighed. After that we all started talking about how to decorate my new place.

"There won't be any walls separating your bedroom from your sitting room but I figured if you wanted some privacy we could build something." Rosalie said, getting into her decorating mode.

"No, I like the openness." I said and she nodded.

"I thought it'd be nice if you had a little sofa or something. So you can watch TV and do homework comfortably without having to lounge on the bed." Bella put in. After some urging from everyone else I reluctantly agreed and they decided tomorrow we'd go furniture shopping. I need a dresser or two and a new bed frame too.

"Can stay and look around a little bit?" I asked when everyone started to leave.

"Yeah, we'll be in the house making a list of things to get." Bella said. She nudged my shoulder playfully ash she passed me. As they were leaving Jasper was entering. When Bella stopped in front of him I was wondering if she was going to tell him to leave. But then she turned and gave me a slight smile before following Esme and Rosalie out the door. Jasper watched her leave before leaning against the door frame and folding his arms.

"How do you like it?" He asked.

"I love it." I smiled widely. He chuckled and I turned to explore one of the doors. The first one I opened I found a little a closet, the second one was a bathroom. It was a lot smaller than the one at the other house but it had everything I'd need so I was happy. Jasper didn't say anything while I looked around the bathroom. But when I looked at my reflection in the mirror he was outside the bathroom doorway. I looked down as an image of his reaction he night before flashed through my mind and my cheeks burned.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked in a concerned voice. I laughed a littler nervously and turned to look at him with a shaky smile.

"I'm… embarrassed." I admitted.

"About…?" He prodded.

"Last night." I muttered. "I'm sorry I blurted that out like that." I again looked down and started tugging at a loose string on my shirt. I didn't hear him but I saw his feet appear in front of me, much like he had the night before. He put his finger under my chin and gently lifted it so I was craning my neck to look him in the face. He smiled and leaned down to brush a light kiss against my cheek.

"I'm not." He whispered lightly before kissing me lightly on the lips. My heart flopped around in my chest and he chuckled before pulling back a little.

"I was going to wait until we were settled in, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me." He spoke in a whisper but I heard every word. My breathing hitched and I couldn't fight the smile. When words failed me I nodded. He chuckled and pressed a kiss against my forehead. He backed up but took my hand to pull me out of the bathroom.

"Come on, Esme mentioned something to me earlier about wanting you to go grocery shopping for things you like." He said. I followed him down the stairs and shut the door to my new apartment.


	9. Chapter 17 and 18

**New Life**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**(Willow's POV)**

Edward tossed Jasper the keys without him even asking.

"Where are you going?" Bella asked with a frown.

"Grocery shopping." I answered.

"Well get something healthy. Like broccoli or something." She ordered. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes mother."

"I mean it."

"I know." I sighed and Jasper grinned at me. I blushed and followed him outside. It was already almost dark so we didn't have to worry about Jaspers whole sparkle problem. We drove in silence for a while, neither of us knowing what to talk about. After a few minutes he reached over and flipped on the radio and flipped it to a mix channel. I smiled when I heard One Republics Secrets playing. Without thinking I sang along to it. For a few minutes I forgot about Jasper being the one in the driver's seat. It wasn't until the song ended that I noticed him watching me with a slight smile. My cheeks flamed and I sank down in my seat, turning my attention to the scenery outside. We drove up and down hills and entered a small town, no smaller than forks really. On the outskirts there was a shopping center with a Wal-Mart. We stopped there. It wasn't until I was reaching for my seatbelt that Jasper spoke.

"You have a nice voice." He commented and I could tell he was grinning. I scoffed and got out of the car, cheeks warming all over again.

"I'm being serious." He chuckled and I looked at him over the roof of the car.

"Sure." I said rolling my eyes. He just shook his head and followed me towards the store. I grabbed a buggy, of which he insisted he push, to which I objected.

"Look, I'll push and you can grab and drop and the buggy ok?" He said.

"Ugh, you're such a child." I grumbled but let go of the handle. I began to wonder if he was always this childish. I decided I'd have to ask Bella later on. I grabbed a few things like fresh fruit and vegetables. When we got to the frozen food aisle I threw in a few microwave dinners. Jasper's brow lifted a little and I shrugged. I knew what he was thinking. Bella would have a fit. I didn't really care. It would be nice to not have to clean up a mess. Since I was the only who ate anyway. When we got to the checkout I didn't miss the way the girl tried to flirt with Jasper. She batted her overly made up eyes at him and stood with her hands on her slender hips and jutted out her chest while she waited for him to swipe the card. But I also noticed that Jasper didn't even seem to notice. We were halfway to the car when something caught my eye. There was a women's clothing store right next to Wal-Mart and there was something in the window.

"Do you mind if I go do something real quick?" I asked a little excitement in my voice. He frowned and looked towards the store.

"Sure, I'll load the car." He said. I smiled my thanks and rushed towards it. I was in and out in a few minutes with the two sheet application clutched in my hands. When I got back to the car Jasper was leaning against the car with his arms folded.

"What's that?" He asked.

"An application for a job." I answered.

"Bella-"

"Will have a fit but I don't care." I said and headed towards my side of the car. His arm shot out and stopped me. I thought he was going to say more about the application but he didn't. Instead he held out the keys. A feeling mixed between fear and the feeling like you're about puke filled the pit of stomach.

"You're driving." He said the words and the feeling in my stomach got even worse.

"I-I…No… I don't…" The words kept getting stuck in my throat.

"Do have your license?" He asked. I swallowed hard and nodded. It was in the wallet I always carried, though I don't know why. It had long lost the measly amount of money I'd had left over from when I'd been looking for Bella and I'd thought I'd never need my license again after the accident. I suddenly became aware of it now. Jasper motioned towards the driver door.

"You haven't driven once since you got here. If you go a long time without you may forget how to drive." He said with a shrug. That idea didn't seem like a bad one to me but the realization that I would have to drive at some point hit me. I couldn't have Bella and the others drive me around all the time. After all, I was going to be looking for a job and I'd have to drive myself for that. I took the keys, hands shaking a little, and nodded. He pushed away from the car and opened the door for me. I slid in and fumbled with the thing that makes the seat slide forward. Edward and Jasper had seriously long legs. By the time I was situated comfortable Jasper was in the passenger seat, watching me with his fingers drumming on his thigh. I swallowed hard and turned the key in the ignition. I used to the think this car made no noise. The light purr seemed to have gotten louder and it made me jump a little. My hands were sweating as I backed out, even though I was doing it very slowly. Jasper didn't comment on how slow I was driving, even though I was going under the speed limit. I was glad that the roads were pretty much dead.

"See? Not that bad huh?" He asked and I dared glance at him out of the corner of my eye. I could see from the light coming from the dash board that he was grinning. I exhaled a little shakily and nodded. It really wasn't all that bad. I was even getting a little more comfortable. I reached over and turned the radio up a little. It was at that moment the deer decided to jump out in front of me. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Jasper yelled something from beside me but I didn't hear anything. The memory of snow and the bright headlights appeared in front of my eyes. I could remember the shock of fear on my mother's face and dad's yell from the backseat. I could hear the long beep of the machine as my mother's heart stopped completely. Something was shaking me hard and as soon as the vision had appeared it was gone.

"Willow!" Jaspers sharp tone pulled me the rest of the way out of my imagination. We were stopped in the middle of the road. The car was in one piece but it was slanted sideways in the road. Jasper was clutching my shoulders and shaking me gently. I looked at him but I was unable to say anything.

"Are you ok?" He asked gently. I couldn't get the words out. It was like I'd lost all ability to move and talk. Without a word Jasper let go of me and got out of car. In a flash he was on my side and opening the door. He unbuckled me and pulled me out gentle, as if I were made of glass. I guess at the moment I kind of was. When I tried to walk my legs felt like jelly under me and I slanted against him. Without a word he easily lifted me bridal style and walked around the car and put me his vacant seat. As soon as he finished buckling me in he was in the driver's seat. I stared out at the dark world outside my window as Jasper drove. At some point I started crying but I didn't notice until I felt something dripping down my neck. When I realized it though, the dam broke. I was sobbing so hard my chest ached. I hadn't noticed that we stopped until I felt arms under my legs again. I buried my face in Jaspers neck. I tried to stop crying but I couldn't. I could hear Bella asking then demanding to know what had happened. Jasper ignored her from what I could hear and he placed me onto to something warm and comfy. He laid a blanket on top of me and I turned to bury my head in a pillow.

**(Bella's POV)**

"What happened?" I asked for about the hundredth time. Jasper waited until he had shut her door before he turned to look at the rest of us who had followed him upstairs.

"Was an idiot is what happened." He hissed, clenching his fists. I glared at him and Carlisle put his hand on my shoulder.

"Jasper, please explain." He said in a calming voice. The sound of Willow crying so hard tore at my dead heart and I wanted to rush in there to be with her. Jasper exhaled sharply.

"I had her drive home. A deer ran in front of her path and she went into shock and almost wrecked. Nothing happened though! She is ok." He added when he saw I was about to tear into him. "I grabbed the wheel before we wrecked. It took a few minutes before she snapped out of it. She started crying the rest of the way home."

"How could you be so stupid?" Rosalie spoke what I was thinking. Jasper glared at her.

"Rosalie!" Carlisle came to his rescue and I glared at him. "It wasn't Jaspers fault what happened. Sooner or later she would have had to drive and the same thing would have happened."

"It was too soon!" I hissed.

"It's been six months Bella." Carlisle reasoned.

"She's been through enough!" I threw my hands in the air and Edward put his hand on my elbow.

"Bella, it's done. There's nothing we can do now but be there for her when she's ready to talk if she wants to talk." He said. I knew he was right but it didn't stop me from wanting tear Jasper apart for causing this whole mess. Edward pulled me away towards the stairs.

"Edward I need to-"

"No, let her get it out and calm down. Then you can go in there to her." He said. I weakly let him lead me towards our room.

(((((((((((((((((((((Later)))))))))))))))))))))

It seemed like forever that she cried. Edward assured me it had only been a few hours. When she finally stopped I left her alone for a while before I knocked on her door with a glass of water.

"Willow." I slowly opened the door, waiting for her to reply but the only thing I heard were her sniffles. I opened the door a little more and peered in. She was sitting with her back against the headboard and a pillow clutched in her hands. Her makeup had run, leaving black smudges under her eyes. She was glaring at the wall. Tears slid down her cheeks but she was no longer sobbing. When I stepped forward her eyes flickered over to me, still glaring. I noticed her grip tighten on the pillow. She didn't say anything as I shut the door and moved over to her. I sat the glass down on the bedside table and sat down next to her. When I lifted a hand to touch her she flinched away from me. I decided against that and dropped my hand to my lap.

"Honey, are you ok?" I tried softly. Her answer was a slight nod of her head without looking at me. A lie. My heart ached for her and I knew if I could cry I would.

"Willow," I hesitated a second before continuing. "You can talk to me." At that her eyes flicked to me.

"Really? Like I have the past eighteen fucking years!" She yelled. I was startled at her outburst and her language. I'd never seen her angry like this.

"Willow I'm-"

"Get out!" She screamed. Again I was stunned. She shoved at my shoulder, though it didn't do any good I got the message and I quickly got up and headed for the door. When I was about to shut the door I glimpsed her picking up the glass of water I shut the door, knowing what was coming. Sure enough, I heard the glass shatter against the shut door then her screaming into the pillow. I just stared at the shut door. A hand rested on my shoulder and I looked behind me to see Edward there. Without a word I lunged myself at him and he held me close. He led me back downstairs where everyone was waiting. Jasper was leaning against the door, glaring at the floor, fists still clenched.

"Why is she so angry?" Emmett asked confusion on his face. Carlisle sighed and sat down on the arm of the sofa, as he rubbed Esme's back.

"Because of Jasper." Rosalie hissed.

"No." Carlisle gave me a look that reminded me of a father scolding his child, before he continued. "Her parents died and she thinks she's the one to blame, she found her older sister she has never met before and fell into a family of vampires. She's being hunted by a vampire and was kidnapped and almost raped by one and she was almost in another wreck." Everyone fell into an uncomfortable silence. The only noise was Willow's muffled crying.

"Not to mention she's a teenage hormone bomb at the moment." Edward added. I sighed and sank down to sit on the bottom stair. Knowing Carlisle was right and it was Jaspers fault I looked at him.

"I'm sorry Jasper." I muttered. "I didn't mean to blame you." He looked at me, not saying anything for moment before shaking his head with a sigh.

"It was my fault." He said in weak voice. His shoulders slumped and I felt bad for him. Jasper loved my sister. I could see that. I knew he would never try to hurt Willow the way she was hurting now. It wasn't his fault I felt terrible for blaming him and calling him an idiot.

"It wasn't anyone's fault." Carlisle sighed. "We're just going to have to leave her alone. Let her come to us. She'll snap out of it soon." She didn't snap out of though. At least not soon. When she fell asleep I went and cleaned the broken glass before she cut herself and covered with a blanket. By the way she whimpered and flinched in her sleep I knew she was having nightmares. Several times during the night I heard her cry out. Neither time did Jasper help her, though he tried. Carlisle told him to leave her alone. The next day around noon I heard her showering. She hadn't eaten anything for breakfast and she hadn't eaten the night before. I knew she was hungry so I went into the kitchen and rummaged through the groceries Emmett and Edward had gotten out of the car. I found a few cans of various soups so I fixed her a can of tomato. The water was still running when I went up. I was worried she'd drowned herself but when I went closer to the bathroom I heard her sniffled. I ached to somehow comfort her but knew there was nothing I could do. I left the soup on a tray on her bedside table. When I returned to check on her while she slept I found it hadn't been touched.

"She isn't eating." I said showing Edward the uneaten soup. He sighed and poured it down the drain.

"Try again tomorrow." Was his reply. "She saw it and almost threw up." So the next day I tried again, knocking on her door. Again she didn't answer so I just sighed and walked in. She had unpacked all of her bags and was busy scribbling in a notebook.

"I brought you some soup." I said, holding out the bowl. She looked up at me with a blank expression. Her eyes were rimmed with red and I could see the tear tracks on her cheeks. She glanced at the bowl in my hands before glancing at me.

"I'm not hungry." She said in a flat, hoarse voice. I sighed and continued further in the room, setting the bowl on her bedside table.

"You have to eat something." I said.

"No I don't." And she turned back to writing.

"It'll make you feel better." I dared to say and she glared at me.

"I'm not sick." She hissed.

"You will be if you don't eat." Now I was getting angry. Why did she have to be stubborn? Her eyes narrowed at me and I glared back. After a minute she scoffed and looked back at her notebook. I stomped out of her room, slamming the door shut behind me.

**Chapter Eighteen**

**(Bella's POV)**

I blamed myself for everything. It'd been a week since the incident and she still hadn't talked to me. She hated me and I wished there was something I could do to help her. I wanted to talk to her, tell her how sorry I was for putting her in that situation and that I would never let anything like that happen again. If she never drove again I didn't care. I'd take her wherever she needed to go. We'd finally started something together and one little mistake had torn us completely apart. I cursed and took my anger out on my hunt. After a week of a mixture of feelings in the house I'd finally just run out, giving a brief explanation that I was going hunting and then left. I stayed away for an entire day, hunting in the backwoods of Wyoming and getting my fill of mountain lions and bears. Bears weren't really my style but after everything I needed to take my frustration out on something. When I returned home I walked right into an argument. Carlisle was standing in front of the door with his arms crossed and Bella stood at the bottom of the stairs. Edward was sitting on the step with his head in his hands.

"Bella think, what would make things worse in this situation is if you attacked her!" Carlisle hissed.

"I can't leave her right now!" She yelled.

"Do you want to hurt her?"

"Of course not!"

"Then you're going if Emmett and I have to drag you out." Carlisle's tone said the conversation was over and Bella stomped up the stairs. Edward apologized to Carlisle before following her.

"What's going on?" I asked. Carlisle turned, realizing I was home.

"Bella refuses to go hunting with us." He said. "She needs to. It's been almost two weeks since her last hunt." I nodded in agreement and headed up the stairs to my room, trying not to look at the shut door opposite of mine. I took a quick shower to rid the dirt and grime from my body and dressed before grabbed a book from my private collection. I stopped when I saw a small brown package behind the books. I picked it up and sighed. I'd bought Willow a Christmas present a few weeks before. I hadn't been able to give it to her though because of everything that had happened. I gritted my teeth and tossed it back and went downstairs to the living room. No one was in there so I grabbed the remote and turned it to the history channel and opened the book. I was only alone for a few minutes when Emmett decided to join me.

"Want to play the Xbox?" He asked nudging my shoulder.

"No." I said without looking at him.

"Come on man, what's wrong with you?" He sighed, slumping back against the couch. I glared at him.

"I just sent Willow into a whirl pool of anger depression. That's, my brother, is what's wrong." I hissed.

"She's going to get over it." He said with a shrug.

"What makes you think that." I sighed, tossing the book to the coffee table and pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Because she loves you." He said, smirking.

"Not anymore." I grumbled.

"She just needs a while to calm down. She'll be blushing and stumbling for you again soon." He said grabbing the remote. I sighed and crossed my arms. I missed her terribly. For the first time in a long time I'd been happy. And I'd screwed it up. I was pulled out of my thoughts as Esme, Carlisle, and Rosalie came down the stairs.

"You ready Em?" Rosalie asked as she zipped up her jacket. Emmett tossed me the remote and stood up.

"We'll probably be back Sunday night. Edward is going to try and get Bella to go with him." Carlisle said. I nodded and stood up to say goodbye. It was about an hour after they left the Edward and Bella came downstairs.

"We'll be gone a couple of days." Edward told me. I nodded and Bella shot me worried looks.

"Will you be ok here with her?" She asked. I nodded and she hugged me. "Please look after her. I'm afraid she's going to hurt herself."

"Bella, I don't think she'd do that." Edward assured her.

"Still, make sure she doesn't take any knives upstairs?" She asked.

"I promise." I smiled humorlessly and they left.

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I heard Willow's door open and I tried to act normal when she came downstairs. She paused when she saw me and when I looked at her I saw a tinge of pink on her cheeks and she looked down at the floor before hurrying to the kitchen. Even in a pair of loose flannel pajama pants and a baggy Forks Police Station T-shirt and her hair up in a messy ponytail, she still looked beautiful to me. I heard her rummaging around in the kitchen and the microwave start. A minute later I heard it open and slam shut and a curse. She walked back through the living room with a hot pocket on a plate and a can of soda. She avoided looking at me and hurried up the stairs. I sighed and looked at the TV, my cold dead heart aching. What would I have to do to gain her trust again? Thunder rumbled outside and I flipped it to the weather channel. A storm was heading our way and it looked like it'd be a bad one. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a flashlight just in case the power went off. I didn't need it but I'd take it to Willow if need be. Around midnight the storm settled in and the lights flickered as the picked up and lightening flashed continuously. That's when I heard Willow screaming. In a second I was in her room. She was tangled in her sheets, tears streaming down her cheeks. I untangled her and shook her awake. I could feel pure terror coming off her in waves. Her eyes popped open and she was gasping for air. She didn't say anything, just stared at me with wide frightful eyes, tears still falling. Then she lunged at me, burying her face in my chest and clutching me tightly and sobbing. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her as tight as I could without crushing her and smoothed her hair, trying to calm her down. While she cried she kept muttering something every now and then that I couldn't really understand because she was crying too hard. She finally calmed down a little where she was sniffing and hiccupping but she was still clutching me tightly. Then she muttered it again. From the way she said it I could tell it wasn't met for my ears.

"I can still feel him."

**(Willow's POV)**

I could still feel the hands on my body in places they shouldn't be. I'd dreamed of Dean at times before but this time had been the worst. I could feel the pain when he forced himself into to me and the pain of his bites on my neck. I could still see the look of horror on Jaspers face as he was held by three other vampires in front of me, being made to watch me being raped. I was sobbing so hard my chest was hurting. I cried until I was sure I had run out of tears. I was a sputtering mess but Jasper never let go of me.

"What?" I heard Jaspers voice above me and I stiffened. Had I said that out loud? Jasper tried to push me back a little but I held onto him. His strength was greater than mine though. I stared at the space between us, shivering from fear. He grabbed my chin, gently but firmly, and forced me to look at him. I could see the worry and confusion on his face. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see it. He stroked my chin with his thumb.

"Baby, look at me." He pleaded softly. Baby? He'd never called me that before. I would have smiled if we weren't in the current situation.

"Please." His voice was only a whisper and I could hear the hurt. I finally opened my eyes and when I did I saw the love amongst the worry. "Talk to me." I inhaled sharply, images of my dream flashing before my gaze. My heart thudded hard in my chest and I tried not to think of it. I finally got up the nerve to speak.

"I-I-I wa-was dreaming o-of…. D…Dean." It took a lot out of me to say the name. "He…was… raping me." A sob caught in my throat at the last part and he pulled me tight against him. I was wrong about being out of tears. He dropped kisses on my head and stroked my back in a soothing way. Body still shook with my sobs but once I'd started I couldn't stop.

"He-he was ma-making you w-watch it! I-it hur-hurt so bad! E-even i-in the dream! It hurt!" I cried into his chest.

"Shh, baby. He can't hurt you." He whispered against my hair. His hands rubbed up and down my back in a soothing way. After a while I was able to settle myself down. When my hiccups subsided he pressed a kiss to my forehead and just held me. The storm outside was pretty bad and when a particularly bright flash of lightening lit up the world outside the lights from the hallway flickered off and plunged us into darkness. A loud blast of thunder had me shivering and pressing closer to Jasper. He stood up with me still in his arms and set me down on the bed. When he stood up I grabbed at his hand.

"Please. Don't leave me." I pleaded. I'd forgotten how much I loved his arms around me and I'd been missing him the past week. I felt bad for being angry at him and I didn't want to be alone. He pressed a finger to my lips and when another flash lit up the room I found him leaning in towards me.

"I'm going to go get a candle or something." He said.

"I don't want one." I said, really I kind of did but I did not want him to leave. After a second he spoke again.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Very." I moved back and he slid in next to me, pulling the covers up over me. He wrapped his arms around me and I curled into his side. We sat there in silence for a while. His fingers stroked through my hair on the side of my head as I rested it against his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry." He suddenly whispered. I turned my head in his direction though I couldn't see him.

"For what?" My voice was hoarse now and I winced, clearing my throat.

"For everything, the other day, the weeks before." He whispered sadly. Guilt shot through me. I could only imagine what he'd going through.

"Don't be."

"I made you-" It was my turn to put a finger against his lips, though it took me a second to find them.

"You didn't make me do anything. You were only trying to help. I'm sorry I got so mad. I was acting like a spoiled brat." I rested my head back against his shoulder. He shifted and I felt his lips against my cheek.

"You never act like a spoiled brat." He said. I let out a humorless snort.

"You should have seen before I came to you guys."

"I doubt you acted like a brat." He insisted. Tears pricked my eyes again.

"Actually, the reason they died was because of me." I whispered. Jasper shifted pulled my head up so I was facing him. Lightning flashed and I could see the hard look on his face.

"It wasn't your fault." He stated. I shook my head and yet another tear slid down my cheek.

"No Jasper listen to me." I pleaded.

"Baby, don't talk about it if you don't want to." He whispered and I shook my head again, sniffing back the tears.

"I need to talk about it. It's been in my head since last week I have to get it out." I pleaded. He was silent for a few minutes before he slid his arms under me and easily lifted me into his lap, cradling me. I found comfort in his arms and I felt braver about talking about it.

"Ok Will. If you're sure." He said before pressing a kiss against my cheek.

"I'm sure." I said quietly. He waited patiently while I mustered up the courage. "I wanted to go shopping, because a friend of mine was going to have a birthday party with a bunch of other people. I claimed I didn't have anything to wear and I pulled the puppy dog eyes. They finally agreed and we went to (whatever that town is in the first and second twilight book). Dad wasn't into shopping but he didn't want us to go alone. I'd just gotten my license and I pleaded for them to let me drive home. They were against it because it was raining really hard. But I pulled the spoiled brat, I'm their only child, my birthday is next week." My voice broke and Jasper squeezed my hand. That little bit of affection comforted me and I cleared my throat before continuing.

"They finally agreed. Mom was in the front seat and dad was in the back, making jokes and mom was trying to get him to shut up. Telling him he was distracting me. I guess he was a little but I loved it. I loved his teasing remarks. I was stopped at a stop sign. When I eased forward… I heard the loud horn… the lights on the truck were so bright against the wet road. I… still see the way mom took one look at the oncoming truck… then she looked at me, worried as ever about me and not her-herself." Tears slid down my cheeks and I tried to hold them back. A knot had formed in my throat and I tried to swallow it down. Jasper's arms tightened around me and I leaned into him.

"They were dead at the scene. There was nothing they could do. I escaped with only a few minor scrapes and bruises. The doctors and nurses were surprised by that." I fell silent and closed my eyes tight, trying to fight back the images. I sniffed and Jasper wiped away the remaining tears with his thumbs.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"So you see. It was my fault." I said quietly. I felt him shaking his head.

"No. You know it was one of Riley's lackey's driving the truck. You know if it'd been your mother or father driving it would have happened." He insisted. "I don't want you blaming yourself. Not anymore. Understood?" I nodded, tears stinging my eyes again but I refused for them to fall. I didn't want to cry anymore. It was over and I couldn't do anything about it. I sniffed and he tightened his arms around me, moving his hands up and down my arms. The motion was soothing and I felt like a ton of bricks had been lifted from my shoulders. We sat like that for a while. It was still raining outside but the lightning had lightened up and the thunder was a distant rumble. The power was still out. Usually I would have been frightened, yes I am an eighteen year old girl who is still afraid of the dark, but I wasn't because of Jasper. I tried to hide a yawn but it slipped out. It's amazing how tired you are after a good cry. Jasper chuckled and kissed the top of my head.

"You need to sleep." He said as he shifted me off his lap and settled be back down with my head on the pillows. I turned facing him and grabbed his hand.

"Stay with me?" I asked. Actually it came out sounding more like a plea. He chuckled and slid down so he was lying next to me, putting an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side.

"I won't leave." He said.

"Promise?" I asked through a yawn.

"Promise." He chuckled and I closed my eyes, resting my head on his chest.


End file.
